Fly Together
by Etheriell
Summary: Superhero Red Rose has a mission, to protect the innocent. But her actions lead her into direct conflict with a new hero in town, Whitewing. And who is this mysterious Shadow who has been sneaking around the SDC holdings? And in all this confusion and drama...what is Yang willing to do to protect her sister and the woman she's fallen for?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! This is my newest story, a Superhero AU based on artwork down by the incredible Lycanheiress and colored by Akiruo! I'd link to it, but she hasn't posted it yet due to her wanting to finish all of the girls first, but the cover art is what inspired this! Make sure to check out Lycan's art on her tumblr! You can also find me at lupos-corvidae!**

* * *

With a grunt, Ruby shoved the box the final inch it needed to go to fit into the space on the wall. Leaning up against the wall for a moment to catch her breath, she wiped at the sweat dripping from her forehead. She knew she just spread a large streak of grease across her head, but she couldn't find it within herself to care as she reached for her water bottle. Twisting the cap off, she drained half of it in one go. Setting her bottle down, she turned around and dropped into the chair next to the workbench, resting her tired legs.

Ruby let out a jaw-cracking yawn, finally able to relax for a brief moment. Her latest project completed, she could have Yang call the customer up and tell them it was ready for delivery. It would be nice to see the payout for this job, with how much the client was offering for her to restore his vehicle to a pristine condition.

She rubbed her hands off on a scrap piece of clothing hanging on her belt to get the worst of it off, casually heading out of her workshop. Was about time to get home and maybe take a nap before dinner. Ruby's thoughts about her night were paused as she heard the telltale sounds of sirens in the distance. She turned to the television in the corner, having had it on for background noise as a breaking alert crossed the screen, the somber face of a news anchor filling the screen.

' _We're here, live, at the First Federal Bank of Atlas, where a tense standoff is in progress between the police and an unknown number of assailants. The suspects appear to have taken the bank staff hostage and are resisting any attempts at communication. Any attempts to enter the building so far have been met with violence, and-'_ the anchor's voice was cut off by a massive explosion right from the side of the building, glass flying everywhere and causing everyone, including the gathered police officers, to duck behind cover.

' _The suspects have set off some kind of bomb! The building is listing to the side, but they still haven't come out! Wait...alright, I'm just now hearing that the suspects have said if the police do not move back, they will detonate more explosives. The hostages seem in a very dangerous position, as the suspects seem clearly deranged and are not open to reason.'_

Ruby flicked the tv off. Narrowing her eyes, she glanced about the empty workshop. Craning her neck to check the lobby, she noted no one else was around. Tossing her keys on the counter, she strode over to a small box she kept locked next to her bench. Inputting the combination, she reached down. Grasping a small piece of clothing, she lifted it up. Placing it on her face, she glanced up to see her reflection in the mirror. Bright silver eyes now covered by white goggles cleverly sewn into cloth as she swirled on her cloak. With a smirk, Red Rose tossed the hood up over her head.

* * *

"Don't just stand there you dumbass, get over there and cover the left window!" Roman growled out. The man hurried to do as he was told, Roman sighing as he ran off. Taking his hat off of his bright orange-red hair, he placed it against his chest and looked up as though praying. "Good help is so hard to find," he lamented. He glanced about, taking note of the tied up hostages, the numerous henchmen he'd hired on, and especially, the vault that was in the process of being emptied.

A tap on his arm made him glance down at his rather short companion, her dichromatic eyes meeting his. "Yeah, I know, Neo, I know. Stick close to you, you have the exit strategy. I just need these _useless wastes,_ " Roman shouted out at the assorted henchmen around him, "To pick up the pace! Who knows how long we have until the police show up!"

"It's okay boss, we got it all bagged up for you," one of the men said as he approached, dropping a series of bags at Roman's feet. Roman smiled, flipping his hat back on.

"Well, fina-fucking-ly! There's hope for you yet!" Roman went to pick up the bag but paused as a small red object floated down to land on the bag. Picking it up, he squinted at it. "Rose petals?"

"I think you might have overdrawn your account," a voice called out from above, amusement coloring the tone. Roman, Neo, the assembled henchmen, and the hostages all looked up, seeing a tall, muscular woman dressed in a red cloak standing on one of the support beams. Her eyes were hidden behind red silk cloth stretching over them with white one-way glass covering where the eyes should be. Black pants and a black vest over a red shirt covered most of the rest of her body, with a pair of black boots completing the ensemble. Red bracers covered her forearms with black gloves keeping her hands safe, a belt with a number of slots in it attached at her waist finished it off.

Roman just arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You lost? You look like you just came from a geek convention."

The figure smirked. "You must be new here. I'd happily show you around, buddy, but you're gonna have to let the hostages go first. And return the money. Oh, and you get shown around in some nice bracelets that those lovely policemen outside have."

Roman rolled his eyes in response. "Ah, here we go. Some wannabe vigilante trying to be the hero. Truly, Atlas' finest example. Now let's see, what's next on the script...probably should banter more...ah fuck it. Just shoot her!" Roman's voice lifted up in a shout as he pointed, all of the henchmen immediately bringing their guns up to and pulling the triggers.

A hail of bullets sped across the air towards the woman up above, but in the blink of an eye, she disappeared, rose petals floating down softly. Everyone stopped firing for a brief moment, confusion spread across their faces, the room going silent. A brief second later, a smug chuckle sounded throughout the room, echoing in the cavernous foyer of the bank, as rose petals began to stream about. Roman narrowed his eyes, glancing about, but he had little time to react before a fist slammed into his face, sending him flying back across the floor.

As Roman sat up, dizzy, Neo rushing to his side, he was treated to what felt like a slideshow. The red-cloaked figure kept appearing and disappearing, petals falling about her like snow. Every time she appeared it was like she was already mid-motion, some punch, or kick, or even a throw landing on a different hapless goon. Raising up his cane, he flicked on the sight. He loved this little gun-cane, no one ever expected it. Taking careful aim at one of his few remaining standing henchmen, he sighted the shot out and…*there!*

With a flick of his finger, his shot rang out, slamming into the air just as the red figure arrived. She let out a cry of pain as it hit her shoulder, the force of the shot coming from his cane knocking her out of the air. She skidded for a moment before disappearing in a cloud of petals, reappearing standing right next to Roman. With narrowed eyes she kicked out at the cane to try to knock it out of his hands, one hand still holding her shoulder, blood dripping between her fingertips.

Her eyes went wide in shock as Neo blocked her strike with superhuman speed, the shorter woman glaring up at the red-cloaked one. Tilting her head to the side, the red woman blinked around her, attempting to strike the shorter one from a number of different angles, but the shorter one deflected every single attack without fail. With a twist of her wrist, the shorter one shoved the red-cloaked one away.

"Nice moves, short stack," the cloaked woman called out. Neo merely tossed her hair, smirking at the red one, twirling her parasol and standing protectively over Roman.

Roman grunted, clambering to his feet and dusting off his clothing. Glancing up, he casually laid the cane on his shoulder, grinning at the cloaked woman. "So is it too late for introductions?"

"Red Rose. I'd say at your service, but the only service I'll be providing today is taking you to prison," the red-cloaked woman said with a sweeping bow.

"Roman Torchwick, Creative Criminal Conman Extraordinaire!" Roman proclaimed, arms wide. An elbow in his side made him give out an oof, glancing down at Neo. Rolling his eyes, he pointed at her. "And this is Neo. Don't worry about her running her mouth about this." Roman ignored the second elbow in his side as Neo jabbed at him again.

"So...are you two going to come along quietly, or do I need to take this up a notch?" Red Rose asked. Roman noted how she had her hands resting on top of her belt, one finger waiting to unlatch one of the pockets.

"Sorry, but we're going to have to take a rain check on the whole 'prison' thing. It's awful for my hair, you see. Ta-ta, Red Rose, I hope we never meet again," Roman replied with a smug grin. Too late, Red Rose noted the detonator in his hands and the way Neo had gripped his arm, a tiny sparkle appearing around the short woman as Roman flipped the switch.

In the split second before the bombs went off, Ruby was treated to the sight of Neo and Roman blinking out of existence. She cursed herself as she realized Neo was some kind of Metahuman too, but she had no time to complain...the bombs, set in the foundation of the building, rocked the entire thing with devastating force. The soundwave along hurt her ears, not to mention losing her balance as the building's floor cracked from the force. The shockwave from the explosions was far enough away it didn't harm her or the hostages, but it took one glance up to see that the ceiling, already cracked from the prior explosion...was about to come down.

* * *

"For the final time, you need to go to the hospital!" Yang growled as she pressed another cloth to Ruby's shoulder, dropping the soaked one onto the floor.

"It's a bullet wound! They'll ask questions that I can't answer!" Ruby hissed back, eyes narrowed.

"And what do you expect me to do about it?!" Yang shot back.

"...sew it up."

"What?"

"Sew it up!" Ruby repeated in a stern tone.

Yang blinked, before baring her teeth at Ruby. "Are you fucking stupid? Not only would that hurt like hell, I've no idea how!"

"I'm sure the internet has guides or something!" Ruby responded.

"I'm not about to just stab my baby sister!" Yang protested.

"It's for my own good!"

Yang struggled for a moment, her face twitching as emotions played across it. She bit her lip, hard, drawing a small amount of blood before she replied with an angry snarl. " _Fine_! I'll try to sew it up, I guess…"

"Yay!" Ruby cheered, before hissing in pain as she moved her arm. Yang gave Ruby a sidelong glance, sighing as she pulled out her phone to begin looking up suture techniques.

"Ruby, we don't even have the right kind of thread," Yang began.

"Blah, just use...fishing line or something. It just needs to hold to heal up. You know I heal fast. And the bullet went clean through, so no fishing for it!" Ruby smiled brightly, still holding the cloth tight against her shoulder as Yang just grumbled under her breath.

"You are reckless, idiotic, and utterly insane!" Yang hissed as she started sterilizing a needle. "You need to stop doing this before you get killed!"

"Yang…" Ruby began, her voice soft.

" _No!_ I'm not having my baby sister get murdered trying to play the goddamned hero!"

"Yang!" Ruby protested, reaching out and laying her hand on Yang's shoulder. When Yang stilled for a moment, Ruby softened her voice. "I have to, Yang. I can't just sit while people get hurt, not when I can do this. And...it...it just feels right for me, you know? Red Rose, she's...I'm...it's me. I'm me, when I'm her. I know it doesn't make much sense, but...I can't stop, Yang."

"...fine. Fine. Far be it for me to stop you. But I'm not letting you get hurt anymore. I'm not," Yang muttered, defeat in her tone.

Ruby gave a half-smile, it not quite reaching her eyes. "You can't really stop that…"

"I'll find a way," Yang spoke in a tone of finality. Ruby, recognizing that she'd get nowhere further with the conversation, kept her mouth shut as Yang picked up the needle and dried it with a cloth. "This is going to hurt, you know that, right?"

Ruby shrugged. "No worse than the bullet did." Yang grunted in agreement.

* * *

Slender pale fingers clenched in one fist as the news played out on the screen before her. Her other hand lifted the wine glass to her mouth for a sip, eyes narrowed as she watched the report of what had occurred, the news anchors going over the events of the day. She let out a quiet snarl at the story, but her companion's snort told her it wasn't as quiet as it could have been.

"Why are you so angry, Weiss?" Blake asked, not lifting her eyes up from her book as she turned another page. The scion of the prestigious Belladonna family was one of the very few people in the world Weiss trusted, and her best friend. As well as her favorite sparring partner, as she was the only other heir who seemed to understand and support Weiss' decision to practice martial arts.

"Because these...criminals nearly caused the deaths of dozens of innocent people, not to mention stealing so much from the people of the city! And with how organized they are, it must be the same group that's been attacking my families holdings!" Weiss responded heatedly.

Blake let out a contemplative sound. "But it was stopped, wasn't it? By that Red Rose person." Weiss went to reply but quieted herself as the anchor switched to the one on site.

" _And we're here with the hero of the day, Red Rose herself! Red Rose, how did you get the civilians out so quickly?"_

 _The hero stood tall, her cape fluttering behind her. An enigmatic smile crossed her face. "Well, I just had to move quickly to grab everyone and bring them out. It really wasn't that big a deal, these powers help!"_

 _The anchor let out a laugh. "Well, fine work as always! Is there any chance you'll be revealing yourself anytime soon?"_

" _Sorry, Jim, but I'm afraid I can't do that. Although I might consider it for one of your lovely co-anchors like Rebecca!" Red Rose winked at the camera, before turning back to the news anchor. "Well, I'm sorry, but I have to run! Or something like that. I'm just glad everyone got home safely! Good evening to you Atlas. Oh, and as for the mastermind behind today, Roman?" Red Rose's voice dropped, the humor disappearing and a quiet intensity entering her voice as masked eyes glanced into the camera. "I_ will _find you, Roman Torchwick. Bet on that." A moment later and the air was filled with rose petals, the masked figure disappearing._

 _The anchor turned back to the camera, his smile having become forced when the tone of the interview shifted. "Well, that wraps up our interview with Red Rose! Next, the police chief-"_ Weiss clicked off the television.

"She was hurt," Weiss commented.

Blake arched an eyebrow, glancing up from her book. "Hmm?"

"Red Rose. She was hurt. She was favoring her left side, and there was blood. I don't think they noticed because it blended in with her costume."

"Well, being a superhero is dangerous work."

Weiss cocked her head to the side. Glancing down, she realized that the hand that hadn't been holding the wine glass had been clenched so hard that her nails had scratched her palm and a tiny trickle of blood was welling up. She relaxed her hand, setting down her wine glass as she stood from the chair. "Yes. Yes, it is. Excuse me Blake, I need to head out for the day."

Blake shrugged. "Alright. See you later, Weiss." Weiss strode out of the room, her normal calm and collected veneer plastered back on her face as her mind whirled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, the response to this one was rather insane! I'm glad its getting the attention it is, thanks to everyone who left such lovely reviews! Now tis time for chapter 2, and its gonna start getting real _real_ quick! Don't expect these chapters this fast every day, I simply had spare time at work today, but I'll do my best to update regularly. With that said...onwiththefic!**

* * *

"Goddamnit!" Weiss shouted as she leaped backward, sparks flying from the gauntlet on the workbench. Shaking her hand in a futile attempt to make the pain fade quicker, she hissed out a breath as she hopped up and down, aggravated. "Fucking electrical surges!" she cursed as she kicked at the leg of the bench, ignoring the twinge from the impact. She'd been at this project for over a week now. Her family had numerous hidden projects, most notably a firm grasp on nano and hard-light technology, and she was determined to put it to good use. Someone had been attacking the SDC holdings and she was tired of watching it happen and watching her family be slammed by the press.

And on a level she never would admit out loud, part of her yearned for the simplicity of heroism. To everyone in her life save Blake, Weiss was the perfect, cold, spoiled heiress of the SDC. She was soft-spoken, with polite smiles, but she never let anyone forget that she was destined to rule over a corporation that had far more political power than any single organization should. That she chose to practice martial arts in her free time was considered just another rich person's eccentricity.

But deep down, within the depths of Weiss' soul, her heart wanted justice as much as anyone else. She wanted to _help_ people. She kept up her facade to keep her father from giving the company over to her younger brother because she wanted to be in charge to utilize the SDC's resources to help those less fortunate. It wasn't until the coming of Red Rose that she figured out a way she could help. She may not have powers, like the strange wave of metahumans that had arrived, but she had money, intelligence, and technology on her side. She'd _make_ herself powers...if the blasted suit would work with her!

She'd already made the main part of the suit...it didn't really need to do a lot, just protect her from small arms fire and such. Utilizing nanotechnology, it could improve both her strength and speed, giving her a better chance to keep up with the metahumans and easily outclass most criminals. She also had installed a hard-light shield generator in the suit. Not that her father knew she knew about it, but he'd be surprised to know how many of the SDC's 'failed' projects she knew about. But the main suit improvements were meant to be installed in the gauntlets, for ease of use, but they refused to cooperate with her.

A chime sounded from her phone, interrupting Weiss' internal thought process. Glancing over at it, she hit the button to place it on speaker. "Yes, Velvet?"

"Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna is here to see you," came the quiet voice of Weiss' assistant.

"Right. I'll be up presently," Weiss responded. With a final glare at the now quiescent gauntlet, Weiss brushed her hands off and left her workshop.

* * *

Red Rose closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She stood at the top of the Atlesian Tower, the tallest building in the entirety of the city. Ostensibly it belonged to the city government, but everyone knew they were puppets of the Schnee Dust Company. But for now, Red Rose just enjoyed the sensation of the wind playing over her face, of the quiet solitude being up here. It was closer to three in the morning than two, but she liked to patrol every so often. There was something...relaxing, to spend time up here alone with her thoughts.

From this height, gazing down upon her city, Red Rose could almost forget about the pollution, the street gangs, the rampant corruption. From up here, with the lights scattered about the city, with the tens of thousands of cars drifting along, the city had a glow to it, a different look to it than you'd see from down in the morass. She supposed it meant something to her, that she'd come to love her city as much as she did. Although it really wasn't the city itself, it was the people who made the city what it was. The street vendors who sold those amazing hot dogs (she never could resist a hot dog). The Chinese restaurant on the corner that she visited at least once a week with Yang. That guy who sold cotton candy down at the park...okay, maybe she liked the food a bit too much, but her powers made her metabolism run _fast_.

Movement out of the corner of her eye brought Red Rose's attention to a spot below her, around the 70th floor. It was dark, but the city was lit up so well that she had a decent vision of the area, and that shadow was...moving? Narrowing her eyes, she tried to get a better idea of what was going on, but it was surprisingly difficult. It was like the area was obscured in some fashion, a blurry effect taking hold. But the moment the shadow reached the window on the 71st floor, it just disappeared, almost as though it melted through the glass. The area instantly sharpened in her vision, back to match the rest of the area without issue.

"That's not suspicious at all," Red Rose muttered to herself. Shrugging, she let go of her grip on the edge of the building and leaned forward. Within a moment, she lost her footing and began to freefall. As the wind rushed past her, a grin that some might describe as manic crossed her face. A single giggle escaped her as she fell, reveling in the feel of freedom, but she did not forget what she was doing. As she reached the 71st floor, she triggered her powers, bursting into petals and teleporting inside the building. She had no idea why her momentum only carried through her teleportation when she wanted it to, but then again, nothing about metahumans made much sense to science.

Either way, her grin disappeared as she fell back into herself and her mindset. She had a job to do. Glancing about, she to see if she could spot that weird shadow until it hit her...she was in a dark building, _everything_ was a shadow. She wanted to facepalm, but now was not the time. "If I were a sneaky weird shadow figure, where would I be," she mused to herself, eyes narrowed as she scanned the area for anything suspicious, when her eyes landed on the closed door to the main office on the floor. While the room looked undisturbed, there was a small amount of light spilling from underneath the door, like the type of light a computer monitor gave off.

Red Rose didn't want to risk making too much noise, so she allowed herself to fall back into the petals and let them sweep gently across the floor, the wind that pulled her petal form around not even rustling the papers on the desks she passed. Reaching the door, she reformed before it. The light clicked off a moment later, the audible sound of a computer shutting down coming through the silence of the dark office.

Red Rose hung back from the door, trying to fit herself into the corner as best she could to avoid notice. She had little time to wait, as a blackness deeper than the night flowed out from underneath the door like water spilling from a glass. After a moment, the puddle of blackness flew up into the air, forming itself into a humanoid figure dressed entirely in black. Red Rose blinked, tilting her head to the side as she tried to get a better view.

The figure's gender was hard to determine, but they were as tall, if not taller, than Red Rose. Clad entirely in what looked like skintight leather and cloth, the figure was definitely in shape. They weren't overtly muscular, but their figure showed toned musculature underneath the outfit. They had a strange helmet on, with two...cat ears sticking out of the top? ' _A Faunus?_ ' Red Rose mused to herself. She hadn't heard of a Faunus meta in the city, but they could have been hiding. Well, either way, time to stop this charade.

"Halt!" she shouted, startling the figure. Three things happened in the same split second. One, the figure turned to face Red Rose, giving her a glimpse of a strange mask covering the figures eyes, and another one lower down covering their face, reminding her...of that video game character Scorpion, almost. The second thing was that, with the frontal view now available, Red Rose was fairly confident the figure was a woman, considering how tightly the outfit stretched across her chest. Thirdly, a glint of metal had gone from the shadow's hands and was flying at Red Rose's face.

Wide-eyed, she reacted as fast as she could move, her arm blurring into petals as she brought her hands up to block. A loud thunk sounded as her gauntlets absorbed the blows. Blinking, she glanced down to see two shurikens sticking out of her gauntlet, the shadowed figure having taken a step back and dropped into a fighting pose. Glancing down at the shurikens and then back up at the figure, Red Rose blinked. "Seriously? Shurikens? What are you, a ninja?"

The figure didn't respond with words. Instead, she moved her hands in a complex gesture, one Red Rose didn't recognize. A second later, bright blue light formed between her hands, the sound of crackling electricity filling the air. Red Rose blurred into motion, teleporting behind the figure just as she thrust her hands out. Red Rose watched, open-mouthed, as a bolt of lightning tore through the corner she had just been in with a loud crash of thunder.

"That could have hurt if that hit me," Red Rose mused. The figure spun about incredibly fast, her leg already in motion as it came about for a kick, giving Red Rose almost time to reach. Blocking it with her forearm, she retaliated with her own kick, the figure lithely dodging it. No time was given to rest, as the shadow woman started darting about, striking at Red Rose from more angles than she'd ever had to deal with. Red Rose called upon her powers, allowing her to speed up her own motions and teleport to unexpected angles, but the figure retaliated with her own. Every time one of them would land a blow, the other would fade into another form; Red Rose into her petals, and the other woman into shadow. Red Rose noticed something though, and accepted a blow across her jaw, ignoring the pain as she reached out to grab at the figure. The figure danced back, but not before Red Rose had grasped at her belt. Grasping the item she had noticed, she hid it behind her hand as much as she could.

The two broke apart, both panting heavily. Red Rose rubbing her jaw with her right hand. Red Rose narrowed her eyes at the figure. "Whatever you came here for, you aren't getting away with it. Just surrender already."

The woman in black straightened up. Cocking her head at Red Rose, she looked like she was going to surrender. Red Rose relaxed a smidge as the figure held her hands out, but too late she realized it was a ruse. In one of the woman's hands, swirling air had gathered, light trickling out of it. Before Red Rose could react, an explosion of wind blasted her across the office, slamming her into the wall with so much force she bit her lip, blood trickling down her cheek. The dark figure leaped into action, dashing across the room and heading for the window.

Red Rose gripped hard at the hilt of the knife, one of the things she'd stolen from the woman a moment ago, held hidden in her left hand just in case. Taking aim, she threw it as hard as she could. The figure didn't notice it flying at her, the knife sinking deep into her abdomen. The figure cried out in pain, but she couldn't halt her momentum, smashing into the window and going through it with a loud crash. Red Rose hobbled over to the window as fast as she could move, but it was a waste...the figure was gone.

Red Rose sighed, but her eyes were drawn to the floor before the window...something the figure had dropped as she jumped. A single black USB drive lay by the window. Red Rose narrowed her eyes. Lifting it up, she placed it carefully in a pouch, before glancing around. Taking in the destruction, she sighed. Standing upright, she let out a hiss of pain, before disappearing into petals once more.

* * *

"I can't believe you got hurt _again_ ," Yang admonished as she lay an ice pack over the massive bruise forming on Ruby's shoulder.

"At least it wasn't a bullet wound?" Ruby offered sheepishly, wincing as Yang slapped another ice pack on her other arm with a frown.

"Don't make a fucking joke right now. Lightning? Exploding Air? Shurikens? Some ninja chick nearly killed my sister, twice, not one week after you nearly died to some two-bit criminal and his sidekick!" Yang growled. Ruby wisely kept her mouth shut as Yang paused, the blonde woman lowering her head. "I can't keep watching you get hurt, Ruby. I can't do this."

"Yang...it'll be okay. I just need to be more careful is all," Ruby tried to reassure her older sister.

"And will you?" Yang responded, a challenge in her voice as she snapped her head up to look into silver eyes.

"Will I what?" Ruby replied, blinking.

"Be more careful." The silence from Ruby spoke volumes, and made Yang give out an indelicate snort. "That's what I thought." Yang placed the final ice pack, leaning back as she sighed. "I can't stop you from doing this hero bullshit...but I'll find a way to help you more than just patching you up." Ruby smiled at her sister, but before she could reply, the doorbell rang. Ruby moved towards the edge of the bed, but Yang shoved her back.

"Yang, I can get the door," Ruby began before Yang pushed her back with one hand.

"You stay here and sleep! I'll get it. It's probably the pizza guy or something."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yes, mom." Yang rolled her eyes in return, heading out to the living room, but before she could open the door, she heard a banging on the back door. Glancing out the front, she noted that no one was outside and shrugged, turning about to the back door situated in the kitchen. With a shrug, she opened the door.

Dressed in all black leather, leaning against the door with one hand as another gripped tightly at a knife embedded in her abdomen, Blake Belladonna, Yang's unlikely friend, stood in the doorway. With disheveled hair, red eyes, and a pained look on her face, Blake managed to croak out one word, "Help.." before collapsing to the floor before Yang's startled face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, here we are on chapter 3! It's pretty bumblebee heavy here, but I think it may shed some light...and I am making meta-jokes, so yes, the Naruto joke is intentional since everyone keeps asking me if Blake is like that. For the record, I've never seen the show, the only thing I know about it is the weird run they do. I just like ninja's with magic! xD Enjoy! (Also, if you haven't looked at lycanheiress' art, you should. She keeps encouraging me to write more with her art! And if you ever want to hang out with like-minded people, feel free to join us on Discord, I am a mod on both a Whiterose and a Bumblebee discord server, and both are always looking for new members!)**

* * *

 **Two Years Earlier**

Blake sighed to herself as she realized she still had another three hours left in this idiotic party her parents 'strongly encouraged' her to go to. "Wish Weiss was here, at least I'd have someone to talk to," Blake muttered to herself as she took another sip of her wine. She rolled her eyes as she heard the passing conversations. Vapid, shallow, egotistical...god, Blake _hated_ these rich bastards. Weiss was the only person outside of her family she'd met who was even tolerable, not that she had originally intended to actually come to care about her when she befriended her.

"Great, drink's empty," Blake sighed to herself as she realized her wine glass was drained already. She grumbled under the breath and headed to the bar in the back. The only way she was making it through this idiotic party was with a hell of a buzz. Slumping against the counter, she raised one hand to get the bartender's attention, but before she could order anything, a glass was pressed up against her hand.

Blinking, Blake glanced up to see a woman with wild, blonde hair and violet eyes grinning at her. The blonde woman, dressed in the same style of suit all of the other workers were, winked as Blake, before pointing down at the glass now resting in Blake's hand. "Strawberry Sunrise! My specialty!" she explained, in response to Blake's unasked question.

Blake blinked again, her ears twitching in confusion before she shrugged. "Well...thank you."

"Name's Yang! I'm the bartender for the evening!" Yang proclaimed proudly, standing straight and pointing at herself with a cheery grin.

Blake felt her lips twitch. "I hadn't noticed. Between the outfit, where you're standing, the fact you fetched me a drink...why, I thought you were clearly this evening's guest of honor."

"I am! However did you know?!" Yang replied, unphased by Blake's sarcasm.

Blake felt a giggle escape her. Yang was a breath of fresh air in this room of stuffed shirts. She took a moment to glance over the woman before her. She easily could see Yang wasn't used to these sort of events...she was a bit stiff, even with the carefree attitude she was showing Blake. And with most of the other guests, there was a forced quality to her smile, the same kind Blake came to expect amongst guests. But...the smile Yang gave Blake...it didn't seem forced.

Blake took a sip of her drink, eyes widening as the taste hit her tongue. "That's...really good," she said, surprised.

"What, doubting my drink mixing skills?" Yang looked horrified, placing one hand over her heart and the other against her head. Leaning back dramatically, she gasped as though she were struck. "Truly, a deeper barb hath not been sunk in the history of mankind!"

Blake laughed, finally, the first time she had a chance to the entire evening. Taking a brief moment to catch her breath, she looked back over at Yang, a smile wide across her face. Yang's smile was refreshing.

Yang tilted her head at Blake. "So…"

"So?" Blake replied, arching an eyebrow.

"I'm Yang, and you are?" Yang wheedled, leaning against the bar and moving closer to Blake. Blake took a sip of her drink to hide the grin on her face. She waited a moment, watching as Yang become increasingly impatient as she continued to drain the drink. Finishing it off, she set the glass down and glanced at Yang with a smile.

"I'm Blake."

* * *

"Blake? Blake! Blake, stay with me!" Yang said, shaking Blake's shoulder. Blake's eyes flickered open.

"Y-Yang?" Blake managed to croak out.

"Blake, holy hell, what the...Blake, I…" Yang babbled, her voice getting increasingly loud when Ruby's voice sounded out from the other side of the house.

"Yang? Who's at the door?" Yang glanced down to see Blake, with wide eyes, fear in them.

"No. I...don't. Don't let anyone know, please...Yang…" Blake whispered. Yang took a deep breath. She wasn't stupid. Blake was dressed all in black, there was a knife in her abdomen, and she seemed scared others would know who she was. Yang narrowed her eyes, thoughts whirling as to what everyone else knew, and decided she had to find out.

Yang raised her voice. "No one, Ruby! Just a door to door salesman! You should rest more!"

"Aww...ugh, fine. I'm gonna take a nap! Order pizza or something for dinner!" Ruby called out.

"Yeah, yeah! Night!" Yang returned, before reaching down to Blake. Taking a deep breath, Yang changed her tone to a soft and comforting one. "Blake, I'm going to have to move you. Can you hold on?"

Blake nodded, biting at her lip. "It's...not life-threatening. I didn't...get hit in anywhere vital. It's okay. I just...need a chance to...use something." Blake's speech was halting, but her eyes were clear. Yang kept her mouth shut as she reached down to lift Blake up in her arms, wincing internally at the hisses of pain from Blake. Carefully, she carried Blake towards her room, situated on the opposite side of the living room from Ruby's.

Laying Blake on her bed, Yang left for a moment, returning from the bathroom with the overstuffed first aid kit she kept around for Ruby, not that she was going to mention that's why she had it. "Blake...what happened?"

"You...you have to promise you won't tell anyone. I...you're the only one I can trust with this. Don't...don't tell, please…" Blake replied, breathing labored.

"I promise, Blake. Tell me what's going on," Yang said, her back to Blake as she rummaged in the first aid kit. Turning back around, she took a pair of industrial scissors and cut into Blake's clothing, clearing the area around the wound so she could get a better look. The knife, a wicked looking thing with serrated edges, was embedded halfway into Blake's abdomen, blood slowly trickling from it. The blade was apparently holding most of it in, but every twitch of Blake's let more blood leak out.

Blake took a deep breath. "I...got caught. Breaking into an office, by Red Rose. She...somehow, she snuck my knife off of me and threw it at me. She's good, heh."

"...why were you breaking into an office?"

Blake gulped. "I...I want to tell you, but can you...get the knife first? If you get it out, I can...fix it. I need...there is a little vial, in the pouch on my waist. It's...kind of blue-green. G-get it out. Pull the knife out, drip some of the liquid in the vial on it, and...hold me down."

"Hold you down? Why?" Yang asked with narrowed eyes.

"Please...trust me. I'll...explain...after," Blake reached out with a shaky hand to grab the bandage Yang had pulled out. Yanking it out of Yang's slackened hand, she shoved the wadded up bandage into her mouth and bit down.

Yang's expression fell flat, but she nodded. She pulled out the vial from the pouch, eyes widening as she saw how the concoction was actually _glowing_ , as if it were some weird glow stick. Glancing back at Blake, she took a deep breath. The scent of flowers filled the room when she uncapped the vial, making Yang blink a bit at how strong it was. With one final glance at Blake, who nodded, Yang gripped the knife with her left and _pulled_ , yanking it out in one go. Blake cried out through the gag, but Yang wasted no time in tipping the vial over onto the wound.

Yang hurriedly capped the vial and placed it down, but she wasn't fast enough. Blake started thrashing, eyes clamped shut, desperately muffled cries escaping her mouth as Yang leaped at her, trying to pin her down but finding that Blake's slender form was far stronger than Yang anticipated. Yang straddled Blake's waist, holding her shoulders down with her hands as she clamped her thighs around Blake's legs. Finally managing to her somewhat still, Yang's eyes were drawn to the wound. Watching with open-mouth, she saw as the skin began to knit itself back together, weeks of healing being sped up into moments.

Within the span of a minute, the wound had fully closed, only the leftover blood and a scar showing any remaining trace of the wound. Yang sat back, eyes wide, slowly tracing a finger over the now nearly pristine skin. Part of Yang's mind kept note of the fact that Blake clearly worked out, her musculature obvious from the view she had, but the rest of her was just fascinated by the now healed wound. Yang was so shocked, she didn't notice as Blake took the bandage out of her mouth. With a soft cough, Blake smiled awkwardly at Yang. "Um...you can get off me now."

Yang glanced down, noting the position of her hand on Blake's abdomen and how she was straddling her. With flushed cheeks, Yang practically fell over in her haste to get off of Blake, crashing to the floor with a thud. Blake chuckled for a brief moment, but it cut off in a hiss of pain as she moved. Grunting, she managed to pull herself to a sitting position, swinging her legs over the side of the bed to sit. Panting slightly at the exertion, she nodded towards the vial. "Healing potion. It heals, but all it's really doing is speeding up normal recovery significantly. Good for emergencies, but it has a lot of drawbacks. Can't fix a lot of fatal wounds, drains you of energy, and it is _painful_. So...yeah."

Yang blinked from her position on the floor. Taking a bracing breath, she clambered to her feet and sat next to Blake. "And...why do you have a healing potion? And-"

Blake interrupted Yang with a raised hand. "Give me a minute to explain, please." Yang nodded as Blake took a deep breath. "What I'm about to tell you, no one but my family knows. So...I really need you to keep quiet about this, okay?" Yang rolled her eyes and nodded again. Blake closed her eyes for a moment, focusing, before opening them. "I'm a ninja."

Yang blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Her expression shifted, disbelief and sheer bafflement crossing it. "A _ninja?_ "

"Yes. My family has been shinobi for most of our existence. We served many a feudal lord, but eventually, we broke off and did our own thing. Most of don't practice, but...I do. I wanted to keep up the tradition, and with metahumans being a thing, I felt we needed some defense."

"What...what does being a ninja mean, exactly?" Yang asked.

"Well...we're...assassins? But we can do more. We uh...we can do magic," Blake replied almost sheepishly.

"What, like that Naruto show or something?" Yang asked, arching an eyebrow.

Blake snorted. "Not even close. For them, it comes easy. Magic is difficult and time-consuming, but you can sort of...pre-prepare most of it. I had the glyphs pre-written and pre-charged, that's the only reason I managed to get the Bolt off at Red Rose. Not that it did anything...she's too fast."

"And _why_ were you fighting Red Rose in the first place?" Yang demanded. If Blake noticed how Yang's voice got heated, she didn't seem to mind.

"I didn't want to! She caught me...it wasn't like I wanted to fight her, she's a hero. But I had to get that data!"

"What data?"

"This data-" Blake trailed off as she felt at her pocket. Eyes widening, she started checking every pouch and pocket she had frantically, muttering under her breath. "Where is it, where is it... _fuck!_ " She swore. "I lost it! Damn it all, all of that for nothing!" Slumping back to the bed, she sighed deeply as she shrunk in on herself.

Yang's eye twitched. ' _So that's what that USB drive Ruby got is. Hmm. Wonder what's so important?'_ she thought to herself. She shrugged, deciding to just go for it. "What was on it?"

"Schnee Company dealings, money trails. I have to track down where they've been doing it."

"Schnee? But isn't one of your best friends Weiss Schnee?!" Yang asked.

Blake sighed. "Yeah...I...befriended her to get closer to her father. But...I really do consider her a friend. Kinda failed at the whole mission there. She's a good person. But her father...he needs brought down."

"Why?" Yang asked. Her mind was whirling, between all the information Blake was throwing at her and trying to connect it to what happened with Ruby, but she needed to understand as much as she could.

"Jacques Schnee is a _monster_ ," Blake hissed, eyes narrowed. "He runs experiments on people. He's trying to forcibly make metas. And most of them are Faunus his people stole from their families!"

"Woah, woah, do you have proof of that?" Yang asked, eyes wide. "I mean, he's pretty well respected isn't he?"

"I _had_ proof till Red Rose interfered!" Blake snarled. "God, next time I meet her I'm going to just break her nose or something! She may be a hero but I was trying to do something she's completely overlooked!"

"Uh, now, let's not get hasty, I'm sure if she knew she'd-" Yang started in an attempt to defuse Blake's now growing anger.

"If she was doing her job she woulda known! But no, all she does is show up _after_ the crime is happening! She should be studying things to decipher what's going to happen! She's reactive, not proactive! Makes her 'help' nearly useless! God, if she only stopped to think before she did things!"

Yang wanted to react angrily, she really did, but it wasn't as if Blake was _wrong_. She'd had much the same thoughts, but...Ruby already put too much into being Red Rose as is. Yang didn't want her to put _more_ in. She could get hurt even worse. Although apparently so could Blake. But there was one thing Blake was off about…

"You were a strange figure, dressed in black, stealing from a government building. She was just doing her job, wasn't she?" Yang said with an arched eyebrow.

Blake's anger blew out of her in one breath, the dark-haired woman slouching. "I guess," she agreed sulkily. Yang barely kept in a snort, but a smile crossed her face as she looked at Blake...a fit, active, literal ninja, dressed in a ninja getup...pouting. Even her ears added to the scene, slouched over like she was. It was kind of cute. As Blake looked up at Yang with pouting eyes, Yang had to retract her previous statement. It was not kind of cute. It was very cute. ' _Oh. Fuck.'_ Yang thought to herself as a sudden wave of heat hit her face. She knew her cheeks were tinted pink and looked away from Blake quickly so the other woman wouldn't see.

"Yang?" Blake asked, looking at Yang with concern.

"I'm fine!" Yang replied, too quickly and at a high pitch. Coughing to clear her throat, she internally cursed her stupid rapid heartbeat as she turned back to Blake. "So...what now?"

Blake shrugged. "I probably should get back home," she began, clambering to her feet. Seconds after though, her eyes went wide as she lost her balance, nearly collapsing. Yang shot to her feet and caught her just before she slammed into the floor, cradling her carefully in her arms.

"Woah! Blake, uh...I don't think you're in any condition to go anywhere," Yang said with a sheepish grin, internally panicking as she felt the warm press of Blake's body against her own.

Blake yawned, eyes half-lidded as she instinctively curled up towards Yang's body heat for a moment, before her conscious mind caught onto what she was doing. "Uh...yeah. Guess you're right, heh. Um, but what about your sister?"

"Right! Uh...it's okay, I'll tell her you stopped by but were tired, or something. But you need to change, that outfit is somewhat...obvious."

Blake glanced down at herself. "You think so? But I don't have a chance of clothes with me."

Yang shrugged. "It's okay, I got spares. It might be a bit baggy, but it'll be comfy for napping."

Blake flushed slightly. "That's fine, but um...shouldn't you...set me down first?" Blake could almost see the wheels turning in Yang's head as the blonde woman realized she was still holding Blake up.

"R-Right!" Yang exclaimed, a little too loudly if the way Blake winced at it meant anything. Softening her voice, she tried again. "Yeah. Um, here. You sit here and I'll go get something for you to wear, one sec."

Yang bolted out of the room, leaving Blake behind. ' _Okay. Okay. Just...get the clothes. Goddammit. I knew Blake was hot but this is...different.'_ Yang had always known her friend was beautiful, but she was...she was Blake Belladonna. Yang always saw her as herself, not her last name, but a part of her also was too hesitant to think about anything else because she knew what that sort of name meant. But here? She was...like her sister, in a way. She was...accessible? She was more than her name, and that had been laid clear to Yang in a way it never had before. Speaking of her sister…

Carefully checking the door to her sister's room, she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Ruby in bed, blankets and limbs askew, scattered across the bed. Yang snickered. ' _Whoever Ruby ends up with is going to be so annoyed with her sleeping habits,'_ she thought to herself. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the bottle of pain pills on the nightstand next to Ruby's bed.

' _Fuck,'_ she cursed internally. ' _Now what do I do? Ruby wasn't wrong but Blake...if she's right, she wasn't really_ wrong _either...and she was hurt...really badly.'_ Yang snarled as she strode across the house, her temper flaring as she thought about it. ' _The fuck am I supposed to do? If Blake's like Ruby, she's just going to spend all her time getting hurt! I can't just...keep patching them up! Why the hell did Ruby have to have powers?! Why is Blake a fucking ninja?! Why...can't I keep them safe?!'_

Yang's temper faded as quickly as it flared, her shoulders slumped as she headed into the laundry room in search of some clean pajamas. She knew she needed to do _something_ , she just wasn't sure what. She sighed as she picked up a pair of clean sweatpants and one of her light t-shirts. Walking back to her room, she stopped in the doorway at the sight of Blake, the dark-haired woman leaning down and struggling with one of her boots. She wanted to giggle at the sight, but decided to spare Blake's pride and just walked in, closing the door behind her. Blake glanced up with surprise at the click of the door, but relaxed as she saw it was Yang.

"Here, I got some pj's for you," Yang said, setting them down next to Blake. Blake managed to pop the boot off, sighing in relief. Yang turned her back to give Blake some privacy, but a few moments later her, after hearing Blake struggling with latches and clearly out of breath, she felt her shoulders tense up as she heard Blake's questioning voice.

"Yang?"

"Yeah?" Yang replied, barely able to keep a shudder out of her voice. ' _Please don't say you need help, please don't say you need help, please don't-'_

"I...think I need help changing."

' _Goddammit!_


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm going to be honest...I don't like this chapter. I don't think its nearly as good as I want it to be, but I've been stuck on it for days now and I'm tired of it, I want the story to move, so...this is what I have for now. I apologize if it doesn't feel up to snuff, but I'm gonna work really hard on five to get back into the parts I want to!**

* * *

Ruby yawned as she blinked sleepily. Blinking rapidly, she rolled out of bed, barely catching herself from slamming to the floor. Standing up, she carefully stretched, reaching up high and arching her back. With a sigh of relief, she dropped her arms back down. The bruising seemed to have faded, Ruby experimentally poking at her side where one of the largest ones was to check. Lack of pain made her grin, happy to know her speedy healing was still working just fine.

She thought about leaving her room, but instead turned towards her computer sitting in the corner. Though she'd stopped playing games on it as much, ever since she became Red Rose, her computer was still a pretty impressive piece of machinery if she did say so herself. She picked up the USB drive she'd found and turned it over in her hand. It had to contain something important, for the shadow figure to care so much about it. As she thought back to the fight she absently kept the drive moving in her hand.

Shaking her head to clear it, she decided it was time to open it up and see what it was the shadow wanted so badly. After booting her computer up, she spun up a virtual machine to check the data on the drive just in case it was dangerous. "Now what is it is you wanted so badly," Ruby mused to herself, her silvery eyes reflecting the light of the screen.

* * *

"Alright. Test...fuck it, I lost count," Weiss sighed. Cracking her neck once more to clear the residual pain from the last one, she hopped up and down, checking her balance. She moved her arms and legs one by one, checking for any sign of tearing or any resistance to her movements, but happily getting none. She flexed her fingers within the supple white gloves, checking the range of motion. Finally, she lifted the mask up and placed it on, cringing at the feel of it adhering to her skin. Within a moment, the display lit up, clearing out to give her a better view but varying icons giving her the sensory data hovering just within her sight, available at a moments notice.

"Okay, everything moves fine. Let's try something more complex," she muttered to herself. With a wave, three training robots she'd built herself activated and began trundling towards her. Weiss narrowed her eyes, taking her stance and focusing, letting her breathing even out as she prepared. She'd designed these robots with the finest materials money could buy, and they were formidable even to a well-trained fighter like herself. She'd never managed to fight off more than two (and even that was a stretch), but it was time to see what she could do with this.

As expected, the robots split off to surround her. Though it galled every instinct she had, she allowed them to, wanting to put herself in the most disadvantageous position she could. If she couldn't handle this, if her suit did not work the way she expected...well, it may be time to give up on the dream. ' _No!'_ she hissed harshly in her mind. After last nights debacle, with someone breaking into the government building and apparently getting into a fight with Red Rose, who had stopped for a brief statement to the police, she _needed_ to do this. The city relied too much on Red Rose. Not to mention the caped meta's habit of causing massive property damage lately.

She shook her head to clear it one final time. Now was not the time to drift off. With her mask on, she could see the overlay, scanning over each target and analyzing as quickly as possible. Her skills with coding weren't the best, but luckily she knew how to reach out to the right people to get what she needed. Sometimes it wasn't about what you knew, but about who. Huh...her analysis showed the robot in the center had a slight hitch to its left leg. She hadn't noticed that before. But there, that's the sort of advantage she was hoping the HUD could give her.

Weiss sprang into action, leaping into the air and over the robot with the hitch in its leg. Luckily, she was quite confident in how much force she could exert in this suit, but still, it left her internally gleeful at how high she leaped into the air. Well over ten feet, and she knew this wasn't even close to what it could do. She tucked herself in, flipping over to avoid the robot's reactive strike at her body. Landing in a crouch behind it, she spun back around, leg out, smashing into the leg that was hitching.

In prior combats, she never put full force into a strike, to avoid injuring herself. But she needed to see what sort of impact her suit could take, so she made certain to give it every ounce of force she had. Amplified by the suit's internal muscular augment strands, the strike that hit the robot hit with so much force the reinforced metal _shattered_ under the force of the strike. Weiss completed the sweep, almost losing her balance as her mind reeled in shock. It was one thing to see numbers on a paper or look at projections, but it was quite another to actually _feel_ the power of the strike that hit.

She had no time to rest though, as the robot was still active, and its brethren were closing in rapidly. Shoving off the floor she rolled forward, underneath the swings of the other two and rocketed off the ground straight up. As she went up, she grabbed the one robotic arm within her own and pulled at it. Surprised by the lack of resistance, she went to fling it into the other when she realized that she had managed...to rip the entire arm out.

' _Note to self: do_ not _use this much force on a human,'_ Weiss thought to herself, cringing a bit at the mental image as she decided to use the robot arm as an improvised weapon. With an internal shrug, she flipped it over and launched it like a javelin at the one still attempting to rise to its feet. The arm was impaled into the robot's chest, ripping away at wiring and exposing a gaping hole in the center of its chest. With a creaking noise, it collapsed to the ground in a pile of scrap.

Weiss had to defend herself, as the other two had split up. Though one was still down an arm, it didn't change they'd been programmed well, and if she hadn't had the suit on she'd already be down. But the suit kept her in motion, using subtle electrical pulses to note an attack incoming and where it was estimating the next strike to come from. The suit could only tell her, she still had to make the ultimate decision, but the help was bringing her to a new level of skill. She could react with the suit's signals, not having to worry about a blind spot or even about her eyesight.

She wanted to test that. She closed her eyes and fell into the motions, allowing the suits signals to carry her. A twinge on the left hip. She twisted just enough, feeling the rush of air as the strike barely missed her. A stronger pulse along her right arm, she brought it up just in time to intercept what felt like a kick. The suit absorbed the impact and dissipated it, allowing the force to run along and prevented her arm from taking the full brunt. She felt a smile twitching up the corner of her mouth, a giggle welling up inside her. She felt like a _superhero_.

It was time to end this. Opening her eyes, she crouched down beneath a pair of kicks from both sides and rocketed upwards. Triggering the hard-light generators with but a simple twitch of her fingers, a spinning white disk appeared beneath her feet, giving her a platform to stand on. She'd modeled it after an old version of the Schnee Dust Company logo, the one her grandfather had used before her father had changed it. It was unlikely anyone would recognize it, with how old it was, but even if they did it wouldn't matter.

Standing with hands on her hips, she leered down at the robots. Part of her felt...playful. It wasn't something she'd really felt before. Her whole life had been smiling, a perfect little child to play the part of the perfect heiress, but it had always been so _fake_ to her. The only freedom she had was her talks with Blake and her training, but even that paled in comparison to _this_. This, this was true freedom.

Maybe a part of her, a tiny, tiny part, idolized Red Rose. She got to be a literal superhero. She was a caped crusader, something straight out of storybooks. Most Meta's became criminals, and the only way they were stopped was massive military movements. But Red Rose had chosen to save people. She was reckless, loud, funny, flirty...everything Weiss never got to be. And she was very, very, _very_ pretty. But most of all, she looked free. And Weiss? Weiss was ready to be _free._

She reached up and took off her mask to get a clear view of the room, her grin spreading even wider as she glanced down at the two robots below her. With a determined glint in her eyes, she stepped to the edge of the glyph and whistled. A loud rumbling came from around the massive garage, as over two dozen of her training robots activated. "Well, boys...time to have some fun," Weiss smirked as she replaced the mask. Weiss Schnee wasn't here anymore. Now, it was Whitewing's turn.

* * *

"Hurry it up, the boss'll skin us alive if we don't get the goods!" a short man hissed to his companion, a taller woman dressed all in black. The woman was currently focused hard on the lock to a small vault, a series of wires running from the panel on the front of it to a small device in her hands.

"Shuddap Gary, I know! But I can't make it run any faster! Bitch to the smart girl if you got an issue with it!" she replied with an equally quiet hiss.

Gary's eyes widened beneath the black mask covering his face. He backed off, waving his arms wildly. "Are you fucking crazy, Sarah?! I ain't going anywhere near that bitch! She's nearly as scary as the boss, her and her boy toy with the funky legs!"

"They ain't dating you moron! She's all over the boss. They just work together a lot," Sarah explained absently, eyes focused on the display on the device in her hand.

"Yeah well, either way, I ain't talking to her about nothing!" Gary declared.

"How about you be useful, and you go find out where everyone else is in their tasks, instead of hovering over my shoulder?!" She growled out.

Gary threw his hands in the air. "Ugh, fine! Just wanted to stay on the boss' good side," he began grumbling as he walked off. Hands shoved into his pockets, he grumbled as he walked out of the main vault. Kicking at the floor, he sighed as he kept his eyes on his shoes, frustrated at the way this job had gone.

His musings were interrupted by a wall of white standing before him, making him blink rapidly before looking up. In front of him stood a woman dressed in a form-fitting white suit, her significant musculature clearly visible. A white mask covered her eyes, a blue pair of wings emblazoned across her chest as her long white hair flowed down her back. She stood, arms crossed over her chest, glaring down at Gary. He gulped, feeling the intensity of the gaze, and even though the eyes were hidden by the mask, he could _feel_ the sheer malevolent force behind them.

"Um," he began, before Sarah's voice interrupted him from behind.

"Who the hell are you!?" she shouted, her hand instantly dropping to her hip and drawing her gun, pointing it at the figure in white. Gary gulped again as a slow smirk crossed her face.

"Whitewing," came the reply said in a tone he could only liken to the snarl of a dangerous predator. Gary had no time to think any further on the matter, as the next thing to happen was him seeing a white covered fist headed at his face.

Sarah began firing rapidly at the figure as Gary collapsed, but to no avail. The figure dodged each and every bullet, moving with a fluidity Sarah couldn't keep up with. Her eyes were wide with panic as Whitewing approached, mind gibbering to a halt as she emptied the remaining bullets and finding herself lacking any defense. Whitewing didn't give her a chance to move, a single kick to the side of her temple launching the woman into the wall and sending her directly into dreamland.

Gazing around at her handiwork, Whitewing's eyes landed on the other members of this group she'd already disabled. Most of them either unconscious or groaning in pain, she smirked to herself as she walked to the wall. With her mask guiding her, she punched into the flimsy wood and drywall covering, reaching into it and ripping out a handful of wires from the interior. The bank was already trashed, so it wasn't like she needed to excuse this much.

She mentally hummed a tune to herself as she began waltzing over towards the short man she'd just knocked out when a small rattle got her attention. She looked around, confused until her suit suddenly pulsed the alarm sequence, near her feet. Glancing down, she saw a cylinder rolling to a gentle stop at her feet. It was a gray tube, a single small display on the side facing her with a set of single digit numbers counting down.

Her mask scanned the object within a moment and returned it analysis within a second...it was an explosive. Her suit could withstand explosions and protect her from the worst of them, dissipating force and using subtle hard-light technology to deflect the brunt of it. But she'd opted not to completely cover her face...and it was at her feet. Her eyes went wide, fear blossoming in her heart, as the timer visible on the display ticked down to zero.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it took so long, life...well, life'd. But, here we are, chapter 5! Gets a bit dark at one point, so, trigger warning about suicide here, and some small explanation of where Ruby and Yang are coming from. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Weiss was certain this was it. On her very first outing, stopping some two-bit crooks robbing some bank or another and she was going to die because she didn't think to shield her face. Maybe she should have thought this through more. In hindsight, she _might_ have been a bit cocky. But now, she was going to die. Her image would be splashed across the news, dozens of stories about the crazy heiress building a supersuit and then dying ignominiously to some stupid robbers.

It felt like it happened in slow motion. First, the light. Her mask protected her eyes from the worst of it, dampening the brightness to a tolerable level. It let her track the force, the rippling air as it rushed out from the bomb. Even let her track the shrapnel flying at her unprotected face. She felt the first piece slice into her cheek, so powerful it cut into the edge of her mask and barely missing her eye, not that it mattered when she was about to die.

Her maudlin thoughts were cut off by the sudden feeling of an arm wrapping about her waist. Pressure from a firm grip, and the warmth of another body pressed up behind her. Inexplicably, the scent of roses filled the air, when everything went blurry. She felt compressed, like her entire being was forced into a space smaller than a single atom, all of existence becoming one for a brief moment, too short to truly comprehend. Her suit didn't know how to react, every alarm in it ringing in her ears. Then, it was over. Everything was silent, still, the sounds and scents from before a distant memory. She blinked rapidly, her mask quickly brightening up the surrounding area.

She was standing atop a building, barely lit by the streetlights below. The moon was hidden behind pale, wispy clouds, the night air cool on her skin. Her cheek stung, and when she lifted her hand up to touch it, her pristine white gloves were covered in crimson liquid. She stared at it for a moment, her mind uncomprehending what she was seeing, when a soft voice called out from behind her.

"You alright?" Spinning around, Weiss' eyes went wide beneath her mask. Before her, a tall, muscular woman in red and black, a red cloak swirling about her as rose petals slowly flurried in the air around her.

"R-Red Rose?!" she managed to stutter out, feeling mortally embarrassed as her voice squeaked.

"The one and only!" Red Rose proclaimed proudly. "And who are you, pretty lady?"

Weiss flushed a little, hating how her pale skin pinked so easily. ' _Note to self: find a way to hide blushing.'_ Shaking her head slightly, she cleared her throat. "Whitewing. I'm a...new hero."

"Oh cool! What're your powers?!" Red Rose asked, her voice going high pitched in excitement. Whitewing blinked as Red Rose blurred, appearing right in front of her with excitement painted on her face. The two stood still for a moment, faces barely two inches apart, before Red Rose seemed to realize what she'd done. Coughing, she bolted back to a less invasive distance. "I-I mean, what can you do?"

"I...I uh...I'm not a meta, if that's what you're asking," Whitewing replied, somewhat put off by Red Rose's cheery attitude.

"Oh that's okay, I knew that," came the off-handed reply.

"Wait...how?"

Red Rose tilted her head to the side. "Oh, meta's can sense each other. Wait...oops. That's supposed to be a secret. Uh...you can't tell anyone, k?"

Whitewing blinked. "Why should that be a secret?"

Red Rose sighed. "Imagine how the government would react if they knew they could track down meta's simply by capturing one who maybe didn't have a power that let them stay free. It's bad enough the criminal meta's will abuse that to target other meta's first. I guess it's kind of an unspoken rule for us...even the bad guys follow it, cause no one wants the world governments to know about it. Else we'd all get rounded up pretty quick." Red Rose shrugged.

"That...is...a rather bleak outlook," Whitewing noted.

"Eh. Gotta live in the world. But enough about that! If you're not a meta, what do you use? Is that a super suit or are you another ninja?"

Whitewing scoffed. "Ninja's don't exist!"

"I just stabbed one the other day with her own knife, so I'm pretty sure they do," Red Rose winked at Whitewing in response, her smile not fading at Whitewing's disbelieving tone.

"You...what?"

"Yeah! She was hacking into some SDC computer or something and-"

Whitewing shot forward, grabbing Red Rose by the shoulders and staring into the eyes of her mask. "SDC? You mean the Schnee Development Company, right?"

Red Rose looked at Whitewing, slightly confused. "Uh...yeah? You know another SDC?"

"What did she take?" Whitewing's voice was insistent.

"Nothing. She dropped the USB she had. I got it. Still sorting through it though, I want to know what she wanted."

"Give it to me," Whitewing demanded, her fingers squeezing Red Rose' shoulders.

Red Rose narrowed her eyes at Whitewing, stepping back from her and breaking her grip. "Now hold on. You might be a hero, but I don't know you. I just saved you from getting your ass blown up cause you didn't think to check that everyone was disarmed. A dozen people just went up in flames because of that. It mighta been an honest mistake, but that doesn't mean I trust you yet."

"I...I couldn't have stopped that! And that is very rude, accusing me of-"

"I'm not accusing you of anything. I don't know you. And yes, you could have. You have to check them for weapons when you disable them."

Whitewing snarled. "You blew up a bank the other day!"

Red Rose looked Whitewing steadily in the eyes, not blinking. "I didn't secure the building, you're right. People could have died if I wasn't as fast as I am. I didn't expect someone would be insane enough to plant explosives in the roof. But if you knew about that, you should have learned from my mistakes. I've made a lot. Doesn't mean I brush them under the rug or claim it's not my fault."

"B-but you never say anything when the reporters ask!"

"What would you have me say? People look to me for hope, not for realism. The reality of what I do is that people can and do die. I can't save everyone! It took me years to get that through my head and I still have nightmares about the people who die!" Red Rose' voice was the angriest Whitewing had ever heard, making her take a step back from the other hero. Red Rose clenched her fists tightly at her sides and lowered her voice. "I'm a hero. The public needs that. They don't need weakness. They need strength. Admitting I made a mistake to the cameras makes people lose hope. Thanks to you, that's exactly what's going to happen now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Whitewing said with narrowed eyes.

"I'm going to have go down there and explain to the reporters that you disabled them, but I failed to disarm them in time before the last one blew up the building." came the matter of fact reply.

"But, I'm the one who-"

"And if you admit that as your first outing, you'll never be trusted by the public again. I'll take the hit on my rep, I can handle it. There will be some mean articles published about me for a while, but they'll get over it. This way you get publicity and start building up your reputation with the public too."

Whitewing blinked. "I...that's very...political of you. I didn't think-"

Red Rose gave a rueful smile. "Didn't think I had it in me, didja? I know. I have an image I gotta maintain, after all. Red Rose...cheery, happy, flirty hero of the people. Can't show weakness. Can't show pain. Gotta always be smiling."

"So it's all an act? If that's the mask, what's behind it?"

Red Rose smirked, the look on her face reminding Weiss that she had a weakness for that smirk she gave. "Sorry, but I only take the mask off if I'm getting naked...unless that's an offer?"

Weiss flushed. "E-excuse you! I don't know what you are insinuating but-"

"Calm down 'Wing, I'm just messing with you." Weiss couldn't help the feeling of disappointment running through her, but she shoved it down as deep as she could. Now was not the time.

"If you have to fake who you are, if it's all just politics, if everything you do is scrutinized so much by the media...why are you doing this? " Weiss asked. She wanted to know. She _needed_ to know. She'd been watching Red Rose for years now, following her career and her actions. Red Rose was what inspired her to make her suit. But she wasn't anything like what Weiss thought she was. She was so...jaded.

Red Rose smiled, but it wasn't a happy one. If anything, it looked...resigned. Her tone quiet, she replied with "Because...someone has to." A moment later, she blurred into rose petals, vanishing into the night air as Whitewing stood there, frozen by words she never expected to hear from the one woman she looked up to more than anyone.

* * *

"You sure this is okay, Blake?" Yang asked, Blake's arm over her shoulder as she supported the other woman. They stood before a massive door, one larger than Yang imagined a house should have. The building it belonged to could have been mistaken for an ancient Imperial Palace from Japan, clearly inspired by one of them with the structure. Yang had no idea how many rooms would be in this mansion...fifty? One hundred? It was...insane.

"My parents are out for the next few months. It's just been me living here," Blake replied nonchalantly.

"I'm more worried about breaking some priceless antique," Yang muttered as she shifted her grip on Blake's hip.

Blake waved weakly with her free arm. "Don't worry, if you do, I'll just have you work it off as my personal maid. It'd only take the rest of your life."

Yang's eyes went wide as she glanced sideways in shock at Blake, her near terror fading at the now giggling Blake. Yang scowled. "Real funny, Belladonna."

Blake took a couple breaths, a happy smile still plastered across her face. "Yang, I wouldn't have asked you to come with me if I didn't want you to."

"You could have had a driver bring you in or something. Or a butler. You have those, right?"

"I wanted _you_ to do it...I can't have the staff see me like this. If this gets back to my parents…" Blake's voice trailed off.

Yang tilted her head to the side in confusion. "You said this was a family thing, isn't it?"

"It is, but...I'll explain in a minute. Let's not stay out here." Yang shrugged at Blake's comment, hitching her closer as she pushed the doors open. Blake sighed happily as she saw the entrance to her family's home, a wistful smile crossing her face. She turned back to Yang. "Alright. We'll go to my wing. It's up those stairs and down the west hall."

"You're...wing?" Yang asked in disbelief.

Blake blinked up at her. "Yeah?"

"You have an entire wing of the house to yourself? How many rooms are in it?"

Blake shrugged. "I don't know, ten or so? It's just a small part of the house."

Yang stopped dead in her tracks and just stared at Blake with an expressionless look. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she started walking again, carefully picking her steps on the stairs as she supported Blake. Blake tilted her head to the side. "I-Is something wrong?"

Yang snorted. "Nah. Just...hard to wrap my head around how you rich folks live is all."

"I know it's a bit...much," Blake replied with a nervous giggle.

"You're telling me. You saw our house. And the only reason we have such a nice one is 'cause Dad left it to us when he died." Yang's voice trailed off at the end, not meeting Blake's eyes.

"Oh. I...I'm-"

"If you're going to say you're sorry, don't," Yang cut Blake off. Blake looked taken aback. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap, just...we heard that more than enough."

As they reached the top of the stairs, Blake pointed in the direction she wanted to go with her free hand. She grimaced, the pain from her recently healed wound flaring up from the stair climb, but tried to keep her expression neutral. From Yang's expression, she didn't appear to be doing a good job. In an effort to change the subject, Blake ventured "May, may I ask what happened?"

"He was shot," came Yang's blunt reply, the blonde woman refusing to meet Blake's eyes. Blake's eyes widened in response, but before she could Yang continued. "Makes three for three, I guess. Maybe four, if we take what happened to Qrow."

Blake blinked, confused. "Um...I...don't understand. What do you mean?"

Yang sighed. "My family was...weird. I called Dad Dad, but...uh...he was and he wasn't. He was the one who raised me and Ruby after our moms died. Raven and Summer. Raven carried me, and Summer carried Ruby. Tai, our dad, he was one of their childhood friends. Qrow was Raven's brother. Our uncle. According to Dad, the four of them were a unit, from childhood on, always together." Yang took a deep breath.

"Raven...she was a police officer. Same with Qrow. Summer was a Firefighter and EMT. You remember that meta, Catastrophe? The one who wrecked downtown twenty years back?" Blake nodded, keeping quiet as Yang kept walking her down the hall. She pointed down the one on her left, Yang turning them to head that way as she kept talking.

"Yeah...Raven, she confronted Catastrophe. She tried to get him to turn himself in. My mom, she wasn't known for her patience or understanding, but everyone told me she tried her damndest to get him to just stop. She tried so hard. But...he had other ideas. Summer was trying to save a kid, not far away, and Catastrophe saw her. He didn't like that. He tried to take them out. Raven jumped in the way. Neither of them...made it. The kid did, far as I know. I was seven when this happened. Ruby five."

"...and what happened to the other two?" Blake asked quietly.

"Tai got mugged. Just...some stupid ass fucking mugger. Wasn't even intentional, the guy just wanted his money, but someone spooked him and he pulled the trigger. I was...16? Ruby was 14 or so. Qrow tried to help us, but...he'd been drinking, ever since losing his sister. And one day, he just...well...he'd seen a lot of shit. He couldn't take it anymore, I guess."

"He-" Blake asked into the silence before being cut off.

"Service pistol in the mouth. Ruby...is the one who found him." came the short reply. Blake gulped. She wasn't sure what to say. It must have been obvious, seeing as Yang's reaction was to give Blake a sad smile. "I know. Not exactly pleasant dinner conversation eh? It's okay. We're okay. It...took a while. But we've come to terms with it, you know? We've always had each others back. Hell. It's all that that led to Ruby-" Yang's eyes went wide as she snapped her jaw shut, looking almost panicked.

"...led to Ruby what?" Blake asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Uh, led to her getting into engineering! Yeah, she wanted to fix what was broken you know, heh." Yang flushed as Blake arched an eyebrow at her, one ear tilting up as the other was half folded over in disbelief. "A-anyway, where is your room?"

Blake decided to let it drop, seeing Yang's subject change for what it was and accepting her friends desire. She nodded her head towards the large door before them at the end of the hallway. "My wing's through there."

"Right, your 'wing'. Wait...if that's your wing," Yang began.

"It is," Blake deadpanned.

"No no, bear with me. If that's your wing, does that make me your...wingman?"

"...I'm going to have the servants throw you out."

Yang guffawed. "You know you love me."

Blake rolled her eyes but couldn't keep the smile off of her face. "Come on. I need to sit down. Plus I promised you a story. It's…" Blake trailed off as she her eyes fluttered closed, her body sagging against Yang's and dropping to the floor. Blackness began to fill her vision, her mind going fuzzy as a loud ringing sounded out in her head, a single even note getting louder and louder, drowning out Yang's panicked cries. Blake lost herself to the darkness, her last vision the panicking visage of Yang. ' _Lavender'_ Blake thought to herself, as she lost consciousness.

* * *

" _-and the owners of the bank are talking about suing Red Rose for her failure to properly disarm the criminals before they set off the bomb. Truthfully, she failed pretty badly. What do you think, Jen?_

' _It's a pretty big mess up for Red Rose. After the debacle at the prior bank, it seems that banks are in more danger from Red Rose than they are from the criminals attempting to rob them!'_

' _Hey now, she was just trying to save-'_

' _That's why banks have insurance! She should have just left enough alone-'_

' _Oh come on Greg, you hate superheroes as is, don't get started on this-'_

' _Wait now, we're all ignoring the second hero! This new one, Whitewing, what do we think of her?'_

' _Well according to Red Rose she did the hard part and captured them, but we did not get an opportunity to interview her so we'll have to see what happens going forward. However-'_

' _More heroes, just what this city needs. Look, Red Rose screwed the pooch here! And now twelve people are dead because of her! She-'_

Ruby shut the television off with a sigh. She turned back to her laptop, her mouse hovering over a link. She knew she shouldn't. Knew it'd just hurt. But she couldn't resist. She clicked on the link to the video of the newscast and scrolled down.

She made it thirty seconds before she slammed the laptop lid down, burying her face in her hands. Slumping in her chair, she left her eyes closed. Folding her arms on the desk, she leaned forward, laying her head on her folded arms and taking in a deep breath. She breathed in, breathed out, over and over, focusing purely on her breathing.

"Why?" she whispered to herself. The question Whitewing had asked her was still haunting her, and moments like this confirmed it. She knew she had to. She never wanted anyone to have to lose someone, not like she had. But why did she bother when this was how she was treated? She always did the 'heroic' thing. Even taking on Whitewing's burdens now. But what good was being heroic when the rest of the world was a cesspool? Nothing she did was ever good enough for them. Even when she did good, somebody had a problem with her.

Ruby lifted her head and gazed out the window before her, looking up at the half-moon shining in the night sky. "Is this what you guys wanted for me, Moms?" she asked the night, but only silence answered her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Err...yeah. This is late. Big writers block hitting me for a long time, but I'm struggling through it and hopefully can keep the momentum going! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"...ake!...ear me?...Blake wake up!" Blake felt her consciousness returning slowly, a pounding in her head making her wish to dive back into the soothing presence of nothingness. The insistent voice echoing in her ears seemed to have a different idea, demanding she awaken. With a groan, she opened bleary eyes, swearing as the bright lights above seared into her eyes. She slammed her eyes shut, steadfastly refusing to open them again.

"Blake?!" came the panicked voice once more. Blake mumbled, annoyed by the constant sound. Lifting her hand, she waved tiredly at the air before her. "Blake, c'mon, you gotta open those eyes for me. Come on, let me see those gorgeous eyes of yours."

"Wha?" Blake managed to mutter, cracking an eye open to see a blurry image. Blonde hair, soft skin, lavender eyes...lavender...she'd seen those somewhere before. The hand she'd been waving in the air landed on the cheek of the figure above her. Her other eye opening, she felt a slow smile spread across her face and before her mind could engage, she whispered "Beautiful…"

Red flooded into Yang's cheeks, eyes wide with shock as she gaped at the smiling Blake, her eyes clouded. A second later Blake seemed to come to, her eyes sharpening. A sudden gasp of air and a returned wide-eyed stare made Blake seem to catch onto what she'd just said as she yanked her hand away as though it were burned. She opened and closed her mouth, making Yang think of a fish for a brief moment as her heart pounded in her chest. Gulping, she decided to set that aside for a moment and willed her flushed cheeks to cool down. "U-um, Blake? You alright there?"

"Wha...what happened?" Blake managed to stutter out.

"You collapsed. Just...out cold. You scared me, Blake," came the soft reply.

"How...how long was I out?"

Yang shrugged. "Maybe twenty minutes? I...wasn't sure if it was safe to move you, so we're still here in the hallway."

Blake sighed. "Well...at least no one saw us." She struggled to reach her feet, but found to her eternal shame she felt too exhausted to move. Gulping, she looked up at Yang sheepishly. "Um...do you mind giving me a hand?"

Yang looked down at Blake's sprawled form with an unreadable look in her eyes. There was a brief silence between the two, before Yang sighed. "Aight. Guess I got no choice." Blake blinked and opened her mouth to ask what Yang meant, but found herself letting out a startled squeak as Yang slid her arms beneath Blake, one under her knees the other her back, lifting her up in a bridal carry. Blake's cheeks were a brilliantly shining red, the heat radiating off of them so strong she was surprised she hadn't combusted.

"Y-Yang?" Blake managed to squeak out.

"Sup?"

"Did...you have to carry me?"

Yang shrugged. "Well, you couldn't walk. This is the easier way. It's fine, you're rather light."

Blake glared up at Yang, momentarily forgetting her embarrassment. "I am not light, I am very in shape and I worked hard for this shape!"

Yang snorted. "Yes, and it's a very nice shape." It seemed to take a few moments for Yang's mind to catch up to what she had said reflexively, red painting the cheeks of both her and Blake now. She paused in front of the door and bit her lip for a moment in indecision, before speaking with a forced casualness. "Could you get the door? My hands are full."

Blake gulped, reaching out with a slightly trembling hand and twisting the doorknob. Yang turned to the side and pushed against the door with her shoulder to open it, stepping in only to stop cold as she glanced around. "...are you sure we're in the right room?" She asked, her gaze wandering about in astonishment.

"Yes, why?" Blake replied, confused.

"...your room...is a library," came the deadpan reply. Bookshelves ran along each wall, hundreds of books stacked high. At first Yang thought it was well organized, but she swiftly realized that while the books were treated lovingly, they were piled haphazardly, some vertical, some horizontal, even a few slanted weirdly into others forming arches of sorts.

"I-it's not that bad!" Blake protested.

"It looks like the library from Beauty and the Beast, Blake," Yang retorted, still astounded by the sheer number of books. "But how do you reach the top ones? You don't have a ladder."

Blake ducked her head down to her chest, her ears flattening on top of her head as she looked anywhere but up at Yang. "I climb…"

"You climb. The bookshelves. To reach the highest books." Yang's tone was even more deadpan than she had been prior.

"I _am_ a ninja, you know," was Blake's snarky reply.

"Please tell me that is not why you learned to be a ninja."

"It was not! Yeesh Yang, it's not that big a deal! Besides, this is just the sitting room, my bedroom is back there," Blake said, pointing with her free arm towards the small archway opposite the door they had used to enter the area.

Yang sighed. "Aight, aight." Hitching Blake closer for a better grip, and ignoring the heat Blake was putting off against her, Yang stepped through the arch to find a surprisingly simple bedroom, if not three times as large as hers. A massive bed in the center, perfectly made. A desk next to it, piled high with books, papers, and a few stray...ribbons? Another open door to the side leading to what Yang was able to surmise was a walk in closet. And what looked like a well used armchair in the corner, a single teacup on a platter sitting next to it.

Stepping to the bed, Yang gently lay Blake down. Once again ignoring her own rapidly beating heartbeat at where her mind took it, she sat down on the edge of the bed and glanced down at Blake. "Okay. So...?"

Blake sighed, and, struggling, managed to situate herself so she was half sitting, leaning back against the pillows piled up on the headboard. "Alright. Let me explain…"

* * *

Ruby sighed as she clicked through another file. This was just _another_ billing report. How many more were there? How could one weeks worth of data be so goddamn _much!_ Much less boring! She sighed as her bleary and exhausted eyes scanned over the next file. She knew better than to just skip them based on names, if anything was hidden it would be in some innocuous place. It's not like people just named files 'Evil Plan' or something idiotic like that. She propped her elbow up on the table, cupping her chin with one hand and blinking slowly as she clicked into the next file.

File 12854C. Billing report for a subdivision of a subdivision of a subdivision of a subdivision. File 12855C. Same thing. File 12856C. Same thing. Oh, file 128567D, another subdivision of a...oh fuck it! Ruby snarled out a growl as she slammed her head into her desk. She'd been at this for _three fucking days_! Leaving her head laying on the desk, she sighed into the faux wood. The city had been quiet on crime, which was a blessing honestly, she needed a break, but at the same time worrying.

She hadn't forgotten about that Torchwick guy and his meta partner. Nor had she forgotten about the criminals the hot new lady hero had run into. Wait...hot? Ruby's cheeks flushed as she closed her eyes tightly, letting out a squeak. Now was not the time to be focusing on mental imagery, no matter how tightly that suit accentuated her assets... "Argh!" Ruby shouted. "Bad Ruby, very bad!"

Sighing, she decided to just stay slumped against the desk for now, her cheek resting on the cool particle board. She knew she had been harsh with the new woman, but she just didn't want her to get the wrong impression. She wasn't the first new hero Ruby had run into ever since she started this. Most of them couldn't hack it, couldn't take the vitriol that got thrown at them on a daily basis. A few...a few didn't make it. One or two she knew kept the job going, but they'd moved on to other cities.

The new hero was strange though, even when Ruby compared her to prior heroes. Meta's were rare...meta's who chose to become heroes were even rarer. But a non-meta? She knew of maybe two other 'normal' humans who had chosen to don a suit and do something about the surge in criminal activity, but Whitewing was the first one she'd met who had something so advanced. What Whitewing hadn't known, and apparently had been too twisted up by the near death experience to consider how she was there in the first place, was that Ruby had been watching her from the start. She had originally planned to take care of the issue herself, but when she saw Whitewing appear, she hung back to get more information.

On one level, she still thought it the right move. She didn't know if the white clad woman was another criminal, or if she was a hero she didn't know of. On another level...well, Ruby liked what she saw, so sue her for...ahem... _admiring_ Whitewing for a bit. What she hadn't expected was that Whitewing wouldn't have secured all the criminals first and that one would be willing to blow them all up just out of spite. These weren't the normal criminal element she'd dealt with before. Most criminals wanted to live. Oh they'd kill others, but never themselves. She hadn't anticipated it, and Whitewing almost paid the price because of her mistake.

As for the criminals, there were really only two options. It could be that they were fanatics, devoted to some cause they decided was worth their lives. But they didn't talk like fanatics. If anything they sounded more scared of whoever was pulling their strings. Ruby sighed to herself as that thought crossed her mind as the more likely answer. They were scared of their boss, which likely meant a crime boss...or a supervillain. Or multiple ones, the one guy did mention his fear of at least three different people. A 'boy toy with funky legs', a 'smart girl', and 'the boss'. Sounded pretty supervillainous to her. Ruby was rather convinced that was the most likely, especially with the recent rise in villains crawling out of the woodwork in major cities.

' _Forget it,'_ Ruby thought to herself. Now was not the time to contemplate this. She always had this problem, getting distracted from the task at hand. It had made her school years pretty difficult, although she supposed her family troubles had a big impact on that too. But she had gone out of her way to get her scheduled clients out the door today and only worked a half day so she could investigate the drive in peace. Yang had left a text letting her know she'd gone out with a friend, so Ruby knew she had the house to herself, especially as Yang said she might be gone a day or two. Long time with a friend, but then again, Ruby had a sneaking suspicion which friend it was, and she was quite certain her sister was feeling more than friendly towards that rich girl than she wanted to let on, so...Ruby was just glad she seemed in good spirits.

With an annoyed sigh, she turned back to the computer and clicked on the next file. File 128571E. Ruby blinked. The file was taking forever to load for some reason, yet the size hadn't seemed that large-Ruby's eyes widened as she sat upright in her chair, leaning in closer to the screen. ' _Oh,'_ Ruby thought to herself.

* * *

 _Click._ Weiss set down her wine glass with only the tiniest sound, internally sighing. She didn't let anything show on her face however, daintily dabbing at her lips with a silk napkin. Setting it down, neatly folded, next to her plate, she turned to look at the head of the table. "May I be excused, Father?"

Jacques Schnee didn't deign to glance at his daughter. "Was the food not to your liking? You barely touched it."

"It was perfect, Father. I simply do not have much of an appetite this evening," Weiss replied demurely.

"I have also noticed you had three glasses this evening. Do you have a problem, Weiss? We wouldn't want you to become a lush like your mother." Jacques tone was calm and dignified, as though he were discussing the weather rather than commentary on his deceased wife's behaviors.

Weiss didn't allow any of the internal frustration she felt to surface. "No, Father. I merely thought it a good vintage. A '42, was it not?"

Jacques' placid expression twisted for a brief moment, a sneer crossing his lips before fading back into a calm veneer. "No, Weiss. It was a '43. This swill would never pass as a '42. Please, stop trying to sound intelligent. Leave the thinking for your betters."

"Of course, Father. Forgive me," Weiss replied with an incline of her head.

Jacques let out a single sniff. "This is why you need to marry soon, Weiss. You need a husband to take care of all of the important things you are unable to do so on your own."

It took everything in Weiss' power not to react to her father's commentary. She clenched harder on the handle of her knife, but immediately released it and made sure her expression remained as calm as possible.

"Father...I am quite capable of handling such matters. I have excelled at every task you have set before me. I do not understand why you insist I-"

Jacques hand slammed onto the table, rattling the silverware and place settings. Weiss found herself instinctually silencing herself, a quiver of fear running down her spine from memories of her childhood. "When I want your opinion on a matter, I will _ask for it!_ " He turned to face Weiss fully, his face hardened into a rictus of rage that he would never show the public. Standing up from his seat, he leaned forward, looming over the seated Weiss.

Weiss' eyes widened almost imperceptibly, the unbidden memories flashed into her mind once more...memories of this same scene, the brief but terrifying moments of rage, the raised voice, the hard eyes...the raised hands. It took everything within her not to tremble as he moved into her personal space, his nose barely an inch from hers. In a voice barely above a hiss, Jacques spoke. "And I did not ask for it." One second of the staredown between him and Weiss, before he abruptly calmed and sat in his seat once more. Lifting his glass up gently, he took a sip of his drink. In a tone as bored and even as possible, he said "You may be excused."

Weiss barely kept her composure, hiding the shaking in her hands by keeping them occupied...first with placing her utensils down, then in holding her chair as she pushed it back in, and finally clasped in front of her demurely as she left the dining room. She held her head high, making certain not to show a single iota of the emotions flooding into her. She never could be sure which servant would report to her father. Or what he would see on the security cameras.

At a casual pace, it took her twelve minutes to reach her bedroom. Twelve minutes of her heart beating painfully in her chest. Twelve minutes of her keeping her breathing under control, although she felt light headed from lack of oxygen. Twelve minutes to reach the one place she was certain contained no spies or cameras her father could access. As she entered her room, she closed the door behind her in as calm a fashion as possible, not wanting anything to be revealed.

The second the door latched shut, Weiss collapsed. Sliding to the floor, her entire body quaking, she ducked her head between her knees and gasped for air. ' _Why am I so weak?!'_ she thought to herself. She just wanted to prove herself, to use what she knew she could do to help people. But she'd failed the night before, having to be rescued by Red Rose. And just this night...she'd failed again. Feeling like a scared little girl.

She knew that in a physical confrontation, she'd be hard-pressed to even break a sweat against her father. She had trained her whole life, while he sat in his office. He only went to the gym to keep in condition for the public. He didn't understand the concept of training, or even of hard labor. But she couldn't even defend herself verbally. It was like the moment he spoke, all of her courage, all of her strength would leave her and she'd fall and falter.

Shuddering, she lifted her head to look up at the ceiling above her. In the darkness of her room with her drapes shut and the lights off, the ceiling was invisible. It was as if she was looking up into a void, a maw of darkness from which no escape could be found. The only indication she wasn't in some vast universe of darkness was the security of the door behind her, it's presence the only thing grounding her mind to the plane she was on.

Weiss kept her gaze steady, unshed tears glittering in her ice blue eyes. She knew what path her father would put her on if he got his way. And now she wasn't even sure how to keep that from being her future. She had thought, she'd believed, if she could become a hero, she could find the strength to escape. But last night showed her she was no true hero. Then again...what was a true hero? Red Rose was _not_ what Weiss had expected. She was...someone else. After seeing that, seeing the glimpse of the truth behind the mask Red Rose wore (and she did not mean the mask on her face), Weiss wasn't even sure if this was the path she wanted either.

As Weiss looked up, she could only wonder one thing now. ' _Who am I meant to be?'_


	7. Chapter 7

**Quicker than last time, eh? Hope you guys enjoy, we're starting to pull together some plotlines!**

* * *

"I guess you want an explanation?" Blake asked, now that she was situated comfortably on her bed. Yang, seated on Blake's desk chair next to her bed, let out an indelicate snort.

"Yeah, that'd be nice. Also, where did you get this desk chair, god it's so much more comfortable than the one at my house."

Blake chuckled at that as Yang leaned back with a sigh of relaxation. "You can take it with you, I can get another."

"Really?" Yang asked excitedly. When Blake nodded, Yang's smile lit up the room. "Hell yeah! Ruby is gonna be so excited, we've been sitting on this crappy twenty buck chair to do our billing, it's a mess. Ruby spends so much time on that computer she's practically glued to it when she's not in the shop."

"You really love your sister, don't you?" Blake asked, a soft but warm smile on her face as she looked at the now very excited Yang.

Yang's cheeks went a little pink as she looked away sheepishly. "Up until recently, Ruby was all I had, you know? It was just us against the world. When Qrow…when he left us, I mean, I'd just hit eighteen. Ruby was…well, she'd graduated high school already, she's always been smarter than she acts, but even then, not much prepares you for…all of that. Now you're my friend and its amazing, but…she's still my little sis, ya know? I gotta keep her safe…when she lets me," Yang muttered the last part with narrowed eyes, looking down at the ground as if annoyed with it. Yang shook her head to clear it, looking back up at Blake. "Anyways, tell me about this ninja thing."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Yes, my ninja 'thing'." She chuckled at Yang's wording. "Well, it goes back generations. We've been doing this since the feudal days, my family that is. At first, it was a way to strike back at those who were keeping us down. We weren't always this rich. My family used to be just another family of poor farmers and workers, long ago. But…well, when people started rising up and ninjas became a thing, we joined. Though, we had two advantages the other clans lacked."

"What's that?"

Blake smirked, letting her teeth show. "First was being Faunus. Night-vision is great for skulking around in the dark. The second, was we figured out how to use magic first. We taught the other clans, the ones we trusted, and we overthrew the lords that ruled the land. Unfortunately, that's when it all went wrong."

Yang cocked her head to the side as Blake's tone shifted, from pride to resignation. "What happened?"

"Remember how I said we taught those we trusted?" Blake waited for Yang's acknowledging nod. "Well, we made a mistake in that trust. It took less than a century for the peace we'd fought so hard for to be shattered. This time by our own clans. A second civil war started, but this time, it wasn't one side that had magic, it was both. Or I should say, all thirteen. Thirteen clans, each out for themselves. And the magic we had back then, it was powerful. At a price."

"That's how it always is, isn't it?" Yang mused. At Blake's questioning look, Yang shrugged. "Power comes with a price. That's what every story says. Everyone who has power, metas or just people who built up followers, they always pay some kinda price."

"Every story?" Blake asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know, fairy tales and stuff. I used to read them to Ruby all the time when we were kids and Dad or Qrow was out doing stuff."

Blake let out a rueful sigh. "Well, you're right. The magic we used back then was dark. Dangerous. Blood magic. Magic that took lives to empower itself, to take more lives. Nothing but an endless cycle of blood and death."

"But…you use magic now?" Yang asked, hesitant, but needing to know where this was going.

"My magic is much weaker because I won't use blood magic. The most of it I use is my own blood to scribe the symbols if needed."

"…you use your own blood?" Yang's eyes narrowed. Blake didn't notice how Yang's expression fell, the small clench of her jaw as Blake shrugged.

"Yeah. Just a small amount at a time. Nothing like the old days."

Yang forced herself to relax her jaw, vowing she'd have a talk to Blake about this after the story was finished, but realizing she couldn't keep getting distracted. "And what happened with the war?"

"Eventually, one clan won. Wiped out the other twelve. That clan ended up taking all the lands of the others, and the lands of the feudal lords they had fought against. When the modern age began, the clan jumped on the chance to make the leap into the rest of the world, and…well, here we are, the Belladonna's, merchant empire second only to the SDC, if that. We'd probably be first if we were willing to be as cruel as Jacques is, but my parents aren't like him. We do our business as ethically as possible, and while we can't stop him entirely, he at least plays nice with my parents because he knows he can't lose our business." Blake took a deep breath as she slumped in her bed, her energy drained.

"Okay, so that explains the ninja thing…kind of. That only explains your family's past. Are your parents' ninjas too?"

Blake shook her head. "No, most of my family gave that up. I'm the first who chose to train as one in generations. The only one alive, far as I know. I found the books in the family vault, and…I mean, I had to do something!"

Yang leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees as she stared into Blake's eyes. Something about the way Blake said that last line reminded her of Ruby, and she prayed she was wrong, but the more Blake spoke, the more she realized how alike the two of them were. And the more it made her angry. "Do what?"

Blake slammed one fist into her bed, ignoring the small shake in it that Yang spotted. "I told you! Jacques is experimenting on Faunus, trying to make new meta's! And no one was doing anything! No one even noticed! So, I decided to do something. I started the ninja thing just to remember my family's past, but when I found out about it, I realized I could make a difference. I could help. I thought it'd be easier though. I thought I could just get at him through Weiss. But…I can't do that to her."

"Do what?" Yang asked, her temper set aside temporarily as she tried to follow Blake's logic.

"I thought making friends with Weiss would let me get at Jacques easier. I figured she was just like him, just another cruel human who only cared about other rich people and looked down at everyone. But it's all an act. She acts that way in public just to keep her father off her back, but when I got to know her…she's a good person inside. She wants to help; she just doesn't know how. Doesn't help her dad hates her too. She's scared of him, not that she'd ever admit it. I…she's my friend. Until I met you, she was my only friend. I won't use her to get at her father."

"But you'll break into a secure building after hours and get into a fight with Red Rose," Yang deadpanned.

Blake flushed guiltily. "I didn't expect her to catch me!"

"Pretty sure that's what every thief says, Blakey."

Blake glared at Yang; ears folded down on the top of her head. "Don't call me Blakey!" she growled.

Yang smirked. "You'd be more threatening if you could lift your hand without it shaking."

Blake narrowed her eyes at Yang. "Mark my words, Xiao-Long. You'll pay for that."

"Do you take IOUs? Some of us aren't swimming in our daddy's money, I might need to take a loan to pay it back."

Blake held her glare for another moment, but couldn't hold it and broke first, giggling. "You're incorrigible, Yang."

Yang snorted. "Bull, I am absolutely corrigible! Go ahead, corrigible me!"

"Do you even know what that word means?"

"Nope!" Yang replied without a single shred of shame, a proud smile on her face.

Blake rolled her eyes with a grin. A sudden wave of exhaustion swept over her, her body slumping further into her pillows. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a jaw cracking yawn, preventing her from speaking further. Yang chuckled, getting up and leaning over the bed. Blake's eyes went wide, cheeks flushing as Yang leaned over her to adjust her pillow. Blake tried her best to avert her gaze from Yang's low-cut top but found it nearly impossible as it was right in front of her.

"W-what are you doing?" Blake managed to stammer out, cursing herself internally for the stammer.

"You need sleep. I may not know how this magic healing potion crap works, but it's obvious you're exhausted. That much I know a lot about. Just relax, Blake. I got you." Yang carefully lifted Blake's legs, pulling the top blanket down. Letting Blake's legs down gently, she lifted the blanket up over Blake's prone form.

"Are…are you tucking me in?" Blake asked incredulously.

"Yep," came the reply without hesitation.

"And then what?" Blake asked, subconsciously snuggling into the warm blanket. She felt the warm haze of sleep beginning to wash over her, but struggled against it, not wanting to fall asleep just yet.

Yang's smile was soft and soothing, her voice coming out as a gentle caress to Blake's ears. "I'll wait here. Maybe check out your library. I'll be here when you wake up, don't you worry about that Blake. Now go to sleep kitten."

Blake let out a half-hearted snarl, cut off midway by another yawn as her eyes began to close. "Don't…don't call me kitten, you…you blonde rascal…"

"Okay Blake. Goodnight." Within moments, Blake's exhaustion had finally overcome her willpower, and the dark-haired woman passed into slumber under Yang's watchful eyes. Yang sat back in the desk chair, taking a deep breath as she tried to take in all the information. It was everything she'd feared. Blake had that same spark in her eyes Ruby did when she talked about being a hero. That same spark…and that same pain. The one that told them they knew they couldn't fix everything, but they had no choice but to try. And they'd kill themselves to do it, if that's what it took.

Yang had never been known for her emotional control. Her temper was legendary in her teen years. She'd been both the pride and the terror of her school, depending on where on the bullying spectrum you fell upon. Even after school, she'd tended to stick up for those weaker than her. But in this metahuman world, in a world with literal magic ninjas, with new high-tech superheroes showing up like that Whitewing…what could one ordinary mortal woman do? She couldn't sit by and do nothing.

Yang stood up quietly, gazing down for a moment at the sleeping Blake. In her sleep, the tension Yang had always seen in Blake's body faded away. She looked…peaceful. And beautiful. Yang supposed it was okay to think that now, when no one could hear her thoughts. Sighing, Yang started walking around slowly, gazing at Blake's rooms. She wandered into the massive library, just casually letting her gaze sweep over the books, some neatly organized, some piled haphazardly. She let her thoughts roam with her.

Her sister was bound and determined to be a hero or die trying…and that was what Yang was afraid of. Now Yang saw the same drive in Blake, the same do or die attitude. She wanted to respect them for it, and she did! She really did, on one level. On another level...she was angry. They were all she had. All she had in the world. She couldn't lose them. They were hers. And seeing them in pain, she felt it too. Every time Ruby came home hurt, Yang's heart was in her throat. What about the time she doesn't come home? Seeing Blake with a literal knife in her stomach was the last straw. Yang needed to find a solution. She was tired of worrying. Tired of fearing. She needed to protect her girls.

Yang's musings had led her to stop paying attention to where she was walking. As she clenched her fists in frustration, grinding her jaw, she'd not noticed that she had wandered into a darker section of the library, one further in the back where the lights didn't reach, the entire region in small pockets of shadow. Here, the books were sparser, maybe ten to twenty per shelf. They weren't even organized, just piled.

Yang found herself drawn to the bottom of the third shelf along the wall. Something just…called to her. It stoked the flames of her anger, just the tiniest wordless whisper. Something that told her being angry was okay. It was a righteous anger, not something to fear but something to embrace. It didn't heat her so much she lost control, but it burned, oh it burned within. As she knelt at the shelf, she saw one small book in the back corner, just barely visible in the creeping gloom. Reaching into the dark, she lifted it up, realizing it wasn't an ordinary bound book. Instead, it was a journal of some kind, leather bound, with a leather strap holding it shut. The leather was old yet supple, the clear signs of age across it but not a crack to be seen. From what she could see of the pages, they appeared yellowed with age.

Yang held it in her hands and for a brief moment, the book seemed to glow with a fierce, golden glow. At the edges of her vision flames danced, a loud thrumming playing in her ears. A second later, it all vanished, and Yang found herself blinking rapidly, the haze of anger that had played in her fading. She was back in the main room of the library, the lights bright and no sign of that dark corner. 'Did…did I just dream or something?' Yang wondered.

She felt a weight in her pocket and reached in, feeling old leather. Pulling it out, she held the journal she'd picked up a moment ago in the dark corner, finding herself more confused than not. She shook her head to clear it. She heard a whimpering sound from Blake's room, her head snapping up to look over there. Narrowing her eyes, she dropped the book onto the nearest table without a second thought, ignoring it as she went back into Blake's bedroom. If she had glanced back, she'd have noticed just the tiniest dimming of the lights around the book, a single golden symbol appearing on the cover before both the symbol, and the book, disappeared.

* * *

Patrol. The concept was strange to her, but it felt right. Whitewing stood atop one of the larger buildings in the financial district, some skyscraper for one bank or another. Leaning against the wall, she gazed out to the skyline, letting her eyes linger on the largest one, the massive monument to the excesses of her father, the Schnee Tower. Simply named for a tower that was anything but simple. Within it, the greatest minds of their generation toiled away to create new innovations to keep the Schnee Development Company's bottom line as high as possible.

The whole thing was almost surreal, when she thought about it. Here she was, atop a building gazing out over the city without a care in the world. Except…that wasn't right. She cared. She cared a lot. That was the entire reason she was doing this…wasn't it? She hoped it was. After last night, after her breakdown, she had to wonder if she was doing this for the right reasons. After all, what even were her reasons?

Was she just trying to prove something? If so, what was she trying to prove…and to who? She wasn't even sure if it was her father or herself she wanted to prove herself to more anymore. Was she doing this purely for selfish reasons, or did she genuinely want to help? She thought that's what she wanted. Originally, she just thought Red Rose could use some backup. That's what she kept telling herself at least.

But she prided herself on being honest with herself, with examining her behavior from a critical scope. She couldn't deny part of her just wanted to meet Red Rose. So maybe she had a small crush on the woman. Who could blame her? Red Rose was everything Weiss had ever wanted to be…strong, confident, powerful, gorgeous. She helped people. For nothing. Never a single iota of reward was taken, no matter who or how often it was offered. Red Rose was a hero of the people.

And that was the problem, wasn't it? Weiss had gotten so wrapped up in who Red Rose was on screen, she'd stopped seeing her as a person and saw her as a hero. And on one level, by putting her on that pedestal, by raising her above others, she had dehumanized Red Rose. Red Rose was more than human, she was superhuman, and because of that Weiss hadn't thought about the possibility that Red Rose could have to face normal people problems.

But she did. Red Rose clearly had normal people problems, and it seemed like normal people were the problem. So, what did that mean for Weiss and Whitewing? She wasn't entirely sure yet. Rose seemed…bitter. Tired. Drawn. She'd come across as though she were only going through the motions, like her passion had been drained from her. That was a blow to Weiss' beliefs, if she was being honest with herself. She'd looked up to her only to realize that her hero was still a person.

But was that a bad thing? If anything, it made it easier for her to adopt the role too. If Red Rose could be a hero and still be a normal person somewhere in there, so could Weiss. She didn't want to become like Red Rose, to get to that state, but she didn't have to. And maybe she could…help…Red Rose out of that state. Weiss cheeks flushed underneath her mask as her mind considered ways to help the other woman feel more…passionate.

Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, Weiss took a deep breath. She let go of Weiss and focused on Whitewing. She had a job to do. She'd show Red Rose what she was capable of. All she needed was a chance. Any time now. Really soon. There totally would be something soon. Absolutely. She just needed to be patient…

"Pretty quiet tonight, huh?" came the voice from behind Whitewing. Whitewing leapt up, spinning about and landing in a defensive crouch, ready to attack…only to realize it was Red Rose, the other woman somehow having snuck up on her. Red Rose held up her hands in a placating gesture. "Woah now, just visiting, yeesh. Don't have a heart attack."

"You scared me half to death!" Whitewing growled, straightening up. "Why are you sneaking up on me? Are you following me?"

"This time? No. This just so happens to be part of my patrol route. It's a good vantage point. I'm guessing you figured that out too." Red Rose shrugged.

"This time?" came the low, dangerous voice from Whitewing.

"Last time I saw you, I saw a masked and suited figure sneaking into a bank which was being robbed. Of course I followed you then."

Whitewing paused, before straightening up and nodding sharply. "I…suppose that is fair. Do you trust me now?"

Red Rose tilted her head to the side. "Trust is a…strong word. So far, you're trying to be a hero. I'm good with that. But bit early for trust, this is only the second time I've seen ya."

"Well…I guess I'll just have to prove myself to you!" Whitewing proclaimed, her proud stance faltering as Red Rose let out a derisive snort and flopped down on the ledge, her legs dangling off the edge.

"You ain't gotta prove anything to me, 'Wing. I'm nobody special. Sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be. I didn't choose to have these powers. I got lucky to get them. Just luck of the genetic draw. You at least worked for what you got right there. I assume so at least."

Whitewing paused, before taking a seat a few feet away from Red Rose, mirroring her posture. "Yes and no. Someone else built the basics…but I put them together. I found a use for technologies deemed too unstable, or impractical."

"Yeah, see? Hard work. And those muscles, I'm betting they ain't for show."

Whitewing kept her face turned away from Red Rose, so the other woman couldn't see the pink in her cheeks. "Well, yes, I have trained for many years in martial arts. I find…comfort in it. I enjoy it, both the philosophy and the competition. But…perhaps your powers come naturally, but were they easy to master?"

"Hah!" Red Rose let out a bark of laughter. "Oh, the number of times I ran into a wall on accident as a kid or went clean through one. Oh, it took a long time."

"It sounds like you have trained as well then," Whitewing ventured.

"Well, sure. I do put in work. Gotta, for this job. But just cause I'm one of the few meta heroes doesn't mean I'm good at it."

Whitewing snapped her head around to stare at Red Rose in shock. "Not good at it? You've saved hundreds, probably thousands of people by now!"

Red Rose's shoulders drooped. "And I've failed two hundred seventy-three. That's how many I have not saved. See?" Red Rose reached into one of the many packs attached to her belt, snapping it open and pulling out a small square screen, one that fit in her hand. Turning it to face Whitewing, she clicked a button and the screen hummed to life. A single photo appeared in the center, a single middle-aged man with a slight paunch waving at the camera. A moment later, the screen shimmered and the projection changed, this time an elderly woman with a walker. After a small child with red hair and a big smile…a couple, two women, arms around each other's waist. On and on, another photo every few seconds.

"What…what is that?" Whitewing asked, her voice quiet.

Red Rose flipped it off, sliding it back in the pouch and closing it with a snap. "A reminder. Of what happens when I fail."

"Where is the other one?"

Red Rose blinked, looking over at Whitewing. "The other one what?"

"The photos of those you've saved," came the matter-of-fact reply from Whitewing. Red Rose paused. She opened her mouth as if to reply, before shutting it with a click as she realized she didn't have a response. Whitewing smirked. "Seems to me you overly focus on the negative and not the positive.

"I do! I do know I do good. That's why I keep doing it. But it's not anything special. Anyone in my shoes would."

"Clearly not, with the preponderance of metahuman villains."

Red Rose sighed. "What do you want? You're getting at something."

"I'm not trying to get something from you. I…I look up to you, you know? You're why I did this. I do think you're something special, Red Rose. I don't know why you feel so…jaded, but I genuinely consider you a hero. You inspired me. You've inspired a lot of people. Maybe it's time you start believing that." Whitewing risked an embarrassed glance over at Red Rose and was gratified to see a small, sheepish smile on the other woman's face. It was the first 'real' smile Whitewing had seen on her, and it made her entire face light up with a glow Whitewing found difficult to ignore.

"Thanks, 'Wing," Red Rose returned quietly. After a moment of silence, she leapt to her feet. "Well, I got things I need to do. I have something to check into tonight. How about you finish the patrol for the both of us? I bet you can handle it just fine."

Whitewing grinned to herself. "Absolutely. I can do it."

"Sweet. Just…ah, here!" Red Rose, reaching into another one of her pouches, pulled out a small black cylinder the thickness of a dowel rod. "Just hit the red button right here and it'll let me know if you need to see me or need backup. I'll try to get to you as quickly as possible."

Whitewing took the offered object gently, almost cradling it. After a moment of staring at it, she was startled out of her thoughts by an embarrassed cough from the other woman. Clearing her throat, Whitewing slid the cylinder into a small pocket in her wrist, allowing it to easily be flipped to her hand. "Well…I guess this is farewell."

"Yup. For now. I'll uh…I'll see you around, 'Wing."

"See you around, Rose," Whitewing replied, taking a running leap off the edge of the building. With her enhanced strength, she soared dozens of feet before gravity began to catch up, but a quick hard-light projection created a solid surface below her to land on. She quickly created the second one as she leapt off the first, appreciating the design she'd come up with. She'd sculpted the projections in the shape of snowflakes slowly spinning, a small internal joke she kept to herself. Leaping off the second one without breaking stride, she saw out of the corner of her eyes as Red Rose's piercing gaze disappeared into a flurry of petals, the red streaming into the distance and fading away into nothingness.


	8. Chapter 8

**In this chapter: Ruby continues her breaking and entering streak! And Yang...well Yang learns a few things. And gets really, really annoyed.**

* * *

'Hmm…well, this feels familiar,' Ruby thought to herself as she let herself slide through the wall, her petals leading the way. Only a day or two ago she'd slipped into the main SDC tower to catch herself a ninja, yet now here she was doing the same thing. Only this time, she felt some semblance of sympathy for the ninja's cause. If what she'd seen in that file was true, she'd…well, she wasn't sure what she would do yet. It disturbed her on a level she hadn't felt in years.

'Focus!' she hissed internally. Now wasn't the time to get distracted. She knew how buildings like this went. Instead of the top floor, she needed to make her way underground, to the basement and below, where she believed the labs were. At least, that was her assumption. But since she couldn't let herself be noticed, she'd started near the top and was just now getting inside the building.

Glancing around, she cocked an eyebrow as she realized it was the same floor she'd run into the ninja on. Most of the damage had already been cleaned up, but the burn mark from the lightning bolt couldn't be so easily erased. She could see the section of the drywall that had been cut out and replaced already, but the paint was still not fully set. The difference in the wall was more than enough for her to see where it had happened. She shrugged to herself. It didn't overly matter. For now, she needed to find…aha!

Finding the vent, she allowed herself to discorporate into her petals again. Letting gravity do the work, her form fell into the vent, allowing it to draw her down. It was somewhat relaxing if she were being honest. There was a sense of pure freedom in her petals. A sense she always had to be careful not to let herself get lost in. It would be too easy to let the nebulous sense of instability take hold, and she'd been warned more than once that she could be lost that way. Not that anyone really knew what would happen, as she was the only meta with a similar power that she knew of, but better to be safe than sorry.

In her petal form, she had a very strange sense that Yang always jokingly called her 'rose-tinted goggles'. She couldn't see per se, but she knew where everything around her was. Honestly, it was the best ability she had for fighting; she could react to things she couldn't see so long as her petals were out. It's the one power she'd never explained to anyone but Yang. It allowed her to move where she couldn't see with her petals, as well as fight multiple opponents without having to rely on other senses. It was especially helpful when someone tried to use smoke or a flashbang on her…she could ignore those senses and rely on the extra one her powers gave her to fight.

The long and short of it was that she knew where she was in the ventilation system. It wasn't a straight drop down, but she could easily follow it with a general downward direction without problem. Which is what helped her navigate through the labyrinthian system that made up the massive edifices ventilation system, making sure she kept on her path down until she found what she was looking for. Labs tended to keep closed ventilation systems, separate from main ones, thus allowing them to more easily control how sterilized the area was. She'd found the end of the main one, and with her petal sense, she could feel the closed one just beyond the heavily reinforced metal between the two.

Slipping into intangibility, she drifted into the closed system and immediately sensed the change. The air was not only cleaner but colder, significantly so. It had to be at least ten degrees cooler than the main building. She followed the vents along, this time with less of a vertical motion and more of a horizontal one, slowly getting a feel for how genuinely massive this underground complex was. And it sure was. She knew Schnee Dust was rich, but this, this had to extend across several city blocks.

Finally, with one final scan with her senses to verify no one was around, she decided to reform. It was already reaching the upper limits of what she felt comfortable with; the longer she spent in petal form, the harder it was to return to her normal body. With a not so insignificant amount of effort, she rematerialized as herself, kneeling on the ground of a dark room. She took a quick glance around…based on the layout, she was confident she'd landed in a locker room of some kind. The idea seemed odd to her, a locker room in a lab, but maybe the scientists played games or something. Hell if she knew.

Shaking her head to focus, she swiftly moved to the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. She let a couple petals slip out, filtering under the door and into the hallway, gently floating far enough to give her a good indication of life and any security cameras. As nothing pinged on her senses, she carefully cracked the door open and peeked around.

'Nothing. Good,' she thought to herself. The hallway was dimly lit, with only about a third of the lights on, likely to conserve power. Now that she was confident that no one was around, and with another quick scan of the area with her petals, she strode confidently down the hallway. She didn't know where she was headed, but she knew she had to verify what she'd read in the file. If she could…well…she quickly shook her head. Now was not the time to get too distracted. She needed to see it for herself, because if she could, it'd be another matter entirely.

Coming to an intersection in the hallway, she glanced at the wall, noticing what appeared to be a map of some kind. She scanned over it, finding what she wanted in but a minute. Labs were clearly marked on the map, and Laboratory C was not too far away, maybe a few minutes if she chose to walk it. But…why walk when she could fly? Like the Cheshire Cat, her grin was the last thing to vanish into her petals as she fluttered away in her petal form, streaming down the hallways with renewed urgency. She needed to see this for herself. Needed to know if the files were right.

Less than a minute later thanks to the speed she could get with her petals, she found the door marked Laboratory C. She glanced around furtively, even though she knew she was already unobserved. The security in this area was incredibly lax, barely any cameras or motion sensors anywhere. She really was wondering if any of the material in the files were correct…surely if it was, there would be much stricter security. She shook her head. Now was not the time to get caught up in this.

Reaching into one of her belt pouches, she pulled out a small rectangular device, looking very much like a television remote. She'd pulled it off a tech savvy meta with a penchant for robbing electronics stores. He'd called it his 'Skeleton Key', and it was a pretty damned accurate term for what it did. Ruby had taken it apart and rebuilt it to her own specifications, but the base idea was someone else's. That rankled a little in her mind, but she reminded herself that she never really had a need for a device that could bypass most security systems.

With a few quick button taps on the Key, she waited as the three lights at the top flashed rapidly, cycling through the codes to gain access, and…there! With a small click, the lock on the door to the lab released, a small hiss of air escaping, along with the faint smell of antiseptic. Ruby closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steeling herself…and opened the door.

* * *

When Blake had woken up, she'd been disoriented at first, then flustered. Yang didn't say it, but it may have been one of the most adorable things she'd seen in her entire life, which was saying a lot when she had Ruby as a sister. Blake's eyes blinked open blearily, her ears flicking rapidly as she yawned, showing just the tiniest hint of her long incisors. When she had realized Yang was watching over her, she'd blushed so deeply red Yang was worried she'd pass out again from the lack of blood to the brain.

But Yang knew she had to go, and go soon. She was still wearing the same clothing she'd had when she first helped Blake, and though she'd managed to avoid getting too much blood on it, there was still some there. Not to mention her already frazzled nerves were shot. And she had _such_ a headache. It came out of nowhere, just ripped through her mind and left this pounding in her temples, almost as though someone were just repeatedly knocking on her head. She'd taken easier punches to the head when at the gym doing kickboxing.

Parting had been...surprisingly difficult. She really didn't want to leave Blake, who was clearly still feeling weak, but Blake had insisted she go home and rest first. She had been firm that Yang needed to go relax...but she had invited Yang back after she'd had a shower and rested for a bit, with a very becoming blush. Yang kept her mouth shut about how adorable it was.

Now though, she was back on her bike Bumblebee, helmet on, casually weaving between traffic. Bringing Blake to the mansion on it was a rather precarious task, but she never got around to getting an actual car, and Ruby's wasn't at the house when she left. Most of it was muscle memory and she wasn't exactly in a rush, so she found herself drifting a little. Not enough to lose focus on what she was doing, but she wasn't really paying attention to where she was going.

It was because of that lack of attention that she didn't really notice when she'd passed her normal exit. The pounding in her head had lessened, replaced by a steady humming noise with a small crackle-pop in the background, almost as though there was a small fire in the back of her mind just merrily burning away. It relaxed her, helped her breathe easier. It had her in a daze, a daze that prevented her from realizing she'd passed beyond the borders of the city.

The traffic had lessened significantly, only the occasional car appeared on the road. The day darkened, the sun setting, and still she traveled on. She left the highway, the sound of her motorcycles wheels ripping through first damaged concrete, then dirt, but it wasn't until darkness fully fell something clicked in Yang's mind about the dangers. By then, it was too late. She woke from her daze with a gasp, looking around frantically to realize that it was pitch black, the only light coming from the headlights on her bike. She was somewhere deep within the forests outside of Atlas.

Clouds covered the night sky, preventing even the dim lights of the stars or the moon from shining upon her. The only reason she could tell she was in a forest was the constant sounds of the animal nightlife, but that only made the darkness more claustrophobic to her. She felt it pressing in around her, and for all her vaunted courage she felt fear. She backed up against Bumblebee, fists clenched, glancing around blindly in the dark.

She could _feel_ eyes upon her, could _feel_ some type of gaze, like an itch at the back of her neck. She kept snapping her head around, desperate to get some sight, but she could barely even see the outlines of trees, much less a way back.

She fumbled with her left hand in her pocket for her Scroll, hoping her gps would work so she could at least see what direction she needed to head, but instead of her Scroll, she felt a warm, soft leather cover. Eyes going wide, she drew the book she clearly recalled leaving on Blake's desk from her pocket, the worn journal cover no longer blank. Even in the oppressive blackness, she could see the book clearly, as it was _glowing_.

The previously unmarred cover had changed. Now, a single circle was emblazoned upon it, with the image of flames leaping off it. But then...it wasn't an image. The circle _lifted_ off the cover, hoving just barely above it and spinning slowly. A second, then third, then fourth circle joined it, each interconnected and all four spinning around a central point, forming a sphere of spinning circles, or wheels. As it moved, she jumped, dropping the book to the ground and stepping back, barely avoiding knocking her bike over as she stumbled into it, having forgotten it was directly behind her.

The book flipped open. Pages spilled past, flipping through the air rapidly, before it settled somewhere in the middle. Glancing down, Yang could see the page was blank...at first. As she watched, ink began to spread across the page, slowly forming into elegant handwriting, each word carefully constructed piece by piece by ink simply forming and bubbling up to the surface of the page.

' _Hail, Dragon of the Sun,'_ the writing said, making Yang gulp. She kept her eyes locked on the book, but reached back to grab the handles on her bike and tried to move it away from the book. But she found that the bike would not move, the entire thing feeling as though it weighed a thousand kilograms, the wheels refusing to turn. Her feet slipped on the bed of pine needles and dead leaves beneath her, only barely managing to keep her balance.

' _Halt, mortal. Why do you flee?'_ the book wrote, the 'halt' made of thicker lines, almost as if the invisible pen had pressed down harder on the book. Yang carefully lifted her hands off the handles, but with a deep breath decided she wouldn't be afraid and decided to speak her mind.

"Oh, I don't know, let's see. I somehow have lost my entire afternoon, I was apparently mind controlled or something to get _lost in the woods_ , and I'm having a conversation with a magic book that apparently can teleport into my pocket and prevent me from leaving! Magic books that talk to you are pretty much universally bad! What else do you expect me to do?!" Yang replied heatedly, fists clenched at her side as she glared at the book.

' _...Perhaps I did not consider these actions appropriately. Forgive my insolence. I merely wished to speak with you in a safe location._ '

"Safe? I'm _lost in the woods!_ I don't know where I am or how I got here!"

' _You travelled here on your transportation device. I thought you mortals understood how they worked. You create them after all._ '

Yang's jaw dropped. "Are...are you making fun of me?"

' _You do not seem to be having fun, no. I am not trying to create a 'fun' occasion.'_

Yang was about to explode once more before something clicked in her mind. Narrowing her eyes, she questioned. "...you really do not understand metaphors, slang, or phrases people use, do you?"

' _I find your mortal tongue tedious and difficult to communicate in. I have scanned your mind for the meaning of these concepts. They seem nonsensical and foolish, not unlike most mortal ideas. To answer your question, no. I do not understand them.'_

Yang closed her eyes and sighed. Rubbing her fingers against her head, she tried again. "Okay. Let's start from the beginning. How did you get me out here?"

' _I guided you down the path.'_

"Yes but how?!"

' _I provided guidance to you so you would follow the path I had selected for you.'_

Yang's eye twitched. "I'm asking if you mind controlled me or something!"

' _No. I cannot. I merely asked your subconscious if it desired what I could provide. As it did, it overrode what you consider your conscious mind and brought you here, so we could speak.'_

"What you can provide? What the hell _are_ you?!" Yang demanded.

' _Fallen._ '

"What?"

' _Fallen. I am a Fallen.'_

Yang threw her hands up in the air. "What the hell is a Fallen?!" she shouted. Instead of a reply, the ink faded from the book, all the prior statements vanishing. The page flipped to the next one, ink beginning to spill across it, but this time not forming words. Instead, it began to form images. A tall, abstract figure, glowing with power. Flames leaping from its body, forming into giant feathered wings. A single glowing circle above it's head, and two piercing, glowing red eyes look out from the book. Yang stared at the image, trying to place it, before it clicked. "Y-you mean a...a fallen angel?"

' _Not as you mortals understand angels, but the concept is near enough for you to grasp. I am a divine being, who left my home. I have been trapped upon the mortal coil for time immemorial. I wish for freedom. I cannot have my freedom. But I can have something similar.'_

"What, me releasing you or you using me as a puppet or something? I wasn't born yesterday. That's how all the bad shit happens in stories!" came Yang's hot reply.

' _Of course you were not born yesterday, you were born twenty-five years, six months, and eleven days ago. Yesterday was only one day ago. I am unsure of the correlation between the two timespans.'_

Yang wasn't sure if it was _trying_ to annoy her or was genuinely this incapable of understanding colloquialisms. But as it was, she was somewhat stuck out here, and she wasn't sure it'd let her leave yet. She needed to figure it out first, figure out what made it tick. She took a deep breath. "Do you have a name? Gender or something? I can't keep thinking of you as an it."

' _We do not have genders as you understand them, nor could you pronounce my name. You could not hear it without being driven insane. Likely your brain matter would melt out of your ears. It would be unpleasant.'_ Yang gaped at the book, which had flipped to a new page as it had run out of room on the prior one. The book continued. ' _However...you may call me Enoch.'_

"Fine. What is it you can 'provide' me?" Yang asked in a mocking tone, making quotation marks with her fingers.

' _Your desire to protect your sister and mate. I can give you what you need to do so. Power beyond what your imagination can comprehend. Strength absolute. The flames of a divine being to allow you to burn away the darkness and heal the wounded. I can offer this.'_

Yang rocked back, eyes wide. For a brief she was tempted, but she quickly focused herself, knowing better than to trust anything too good to be true. "And what do you get out of it? Freedom, right? What does 'freedom' mean for you?"

' _I would go with you. My...essence, cannot leave this book. Not on its own. But I can join with another. Follow within. I would get to experience the mortal world. That is why I left the divine realm. It was...static. Closed. Cold. I did not want that. I wanted more. I wanted to see. Mortals may have limited time, but the time they have...I watched. It was_ magnificent.' The pressure of the ink on the page clued Yang into a sense of emotion coming through.

The pages of the book began to flip quickly, each page a new inked drawing. Page after page of people throughout history, changing the world. Small villages becoming cities, people laughing, dancing, joyfully living. Images of insanity, of anger and rage, of bloody battles past. Image after image flipping past, painting the entirety of history before Yang faster than she could follow, billions upon billions of people and their lives from birth to death, before the book slammed shut with a loud snap.

Jolted out of her fascination, she peered hesitantly at the book. "And if I say no?" The book flipped open to the first page and began writing once more.

' _I will assist you in finding your way back to your mortal city.'_

"Why? Seems like you could just force me, you already did."

' _I cannot force you. Your subconscious wanted what I offered. The rest of you does. I can tell. You want it. But you fear me. There is no reason to. I cannot control you.'_

Yang scoffed. "Oh and I'm supposed to just take your word for it."

' _These are words, yes. I am not sure where you would take them however.'_

"...talking to you is a pain."

' _I apologize for causing you pain. I did not think reading would do so. Do you have a medical condition that makes reading painful? That seems like it may be a drawback with your mate, she seems to enjoy reading.'_

Yang threw her hands up in the air in exasperation and stomped a few steps away. She let out a growl. With an exasperated sigh, she turned back to the book. "And if I said yes? What would happen? You'd...join me? What does that even mean?"

' _I would be a presence within your mind. You would have access to my powers. I would have access to seeing what your life is like. I could feel as you feel. I could...live. What my people had was not living. I desire this.'_

"If I change my mind later?"

' _I would return to my book. I am immortal, Dragon of the Sun. Patience is something I learned an eternity before your kind existed. If not you, another will take my offer. But you will take it.'_

Yang narrowed her eyes at the book. "And what makes you think that?"

' _Because you need to protect, to nurture. You are as much of a hero as your sister is. But she has the strength you lack. Part of you is jealous of this. Even more of your mate, who is a mortal as you but found a way to gain the strength to fight for what she believed is right. You desire this. You desire this both to protect them, and because you are naturally a protector. Give me what I wish, and you will have that. You will have_ everything _you need to protect. I am Enoch. I am the Juggernaut. I was not the shield, nor the sword, or the hammer. I was not the tip of the spear. I was the angel who destroyed all in my path, who could not, would not be stopped. I can grant you this. Accept my offer, Yang. You will find what you seek.'_

Yang knew it was too good to be true. She knew there was no way she could trust some magic book. But she also had to, at least internally, admit it was right about one thing. That she was jealous. She loved her sister. Her feelings for Blake were...complicated as well. But she was jealous, of both of them. And that was why she was always so angry at them. She wanted to help them, to protect them, to keep them safe. But she couldn't.

But...was this worth it? Was possibly losing everything she had, everything she was, worth the chance to have that sort of power? What if it could control her? Or if it just killed her somehow? What if the whole thing was just a cruel trick and she'd be left with nothing after getting her hopes up? So many downsides. So much risk. So many things she could lose if she did it.

She didn't even notice she'd leaned on Bumblebee. Arms crossed over her chest, her head was bowed as she thought. The book...Enoch, stayed still, no more text appearing on its pages as she thought. Everything swirled in her mind, over and over, until she finally made her choice.

"Enoch?"

' _Yes?'_

"I've made my decision."

' _Very well. I will respect whatever you choose. What is your choice?'_

Yang took a deep breath, and made her choice.


	9. Chapter 9

**Aye, I know it's been a while. I'm trying to keep up a bit better on my stories, and hopefully this tides you over a bit after the cliffhanger I've left before you! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Ruby crunched down on a bowl of cereal, still in her pajamas as she sat at the kitchen table. Gently bobbing her head to some internal song as she ate breakfast, she glanced up as Yang entered the kitchen and headed straight for the coffee pot, eyes bleary and hair a fluffy mess. Yang yawned as she looked over at Ruby. "How strong didja make it?"

Without looking away from her cereal, Ruby deadpanned, "Blacker than my soul and as strong as my hatred for pickles."

"Perfect, I'm so fucking tired," Yang replied, filling up her mug with the liquid. Without seeming to notice the incredible heat coming off it, she sighed happily as she downed half the mug in one swig. Once again, Ruby casually wondered if Yang did have a superpower to ignore all sensation of heat somehow.

"Why so tired?" Ruby asked, curious.

Yang shrugged casually. "Up late. Had trouble sleeping is all."

"Ah. Makes sense," Ruby quietly returned to her cereal, but as Yang's mind crept back with the influx of caffeine, she noticed Ruby's coffee mug also half full of the same deep black coffee she was currently consuming as if she were dying of thirst. Yang arched an eyebrow.

"Where's the terrifyingly unhealthy amounts of sugar and creamer you normally sneak into your coffee?" Yang asked.

Ruby's shoulders tensed ever so infinitesimally, enough that anyone other than Yang might have missed it. With studied casualness, Ruby shrugged. "Trouble sleeping too, I guess. Was up late."

"Mission?"

"Sorta. I had to check some things out. Took longer than I thought."

"Mmm. Find anything interesting?"

Ruby took another bite of her cereal, the sound of her chewing echoing in the silent kitchen as Yang leaned against the counter across from her. Swallowing, Ruby lifted her gaze to meet Yang's, expression as neutral as it ever was. "Nah. Nothing of note."

Yang nodded, finishing off what remained in her mug. Pouring another mug full from the pot, she lifted herself off the counter. "Aight. I'm headed to the garage to open her up for the day. See you there?" Ruby, having taken another spoonful of cereal, simply raised one hand in a thumbs up gesture as she chewed. Yang wandered out of the kitchen, heading for the side door that led into the alleyway between their house and the main building that was their shared business, the car repair garage they ran.

As Yang walked, she felt a pulsing from within her pocket. With a sigh, she reached in and pulled out the book, holding it in one hand as it flipped itself open. Golden lettering filled one of the pages.

' _She seems to be hiding something.'_

"No flipping duh," Yang muttered. "I know my sister. She's rattled. Something has her off her game."

' _She did not appear to be playing a game when we spoke. Is this some strange mortal game you play while consuming sustenance?'_

Yang squeezed her eyes shut and growled under her breath. "You know, I'm starting to regret keeping you around. I figured when I said no, you'd want to go off to your next body or whatever."

' _I am certain you will see the wisdom in choosing my deal. Soon.'_

"What makes you so sure?"

' _Your sister will get in trouble that you will want to rescue her from.'_

Yang stopped in her tracks, narrowing her eyes down at the book in her hand. "How do you know that?"

' _I have a limited precognitive ability. I can see the threads of fate as they move, just not where they move.'_

"Oh come on! You can see the fucking future?!" Yang protested.

' _Limited. My ability is very limited.'_

"So you can't tell me what this trouble is, can you?"

' _No. I can only say it will happen.'_

"One of these days I'll stop being surprised by you," she sighed. The writing faded at that, seeming to signal an end to the conversation as Yang flipped the book closed and slid it back into her pocket. Snatching her keys off the small key holder hung next to the garage door, she stepped through, flicking on the light switches. Brightness began to fill the room, as the fluorescent lights hanging over the four car bay flickered on with a staticky hum. She wandered to the front of the garage, hitting the button to open the bay doors as she took another sip from her coffee. Grabbing her overalls, she slipped them on and flopped down into a chair next to the front desk, picking up her phone and surfing, waiting for the first customer.

* * *

Ruby was pretty sure she didn't fool Yang. Her sister knew her too well. But at least Yang respected her enough not to ask, and she was so very glad of that. She wasn't sure she could have stayed silent...or kept her composure, if she relived what she saw. Shuddering, she dropped the spoon back into the mostly empty bowl and leaned back in her chair, eyes closed. She let out a deep breath, trying to release some of the tension, quickly realizing she simply couldn't. She'd been stuck on adrenaline for hours now, feeling incredibly jazzed while also indescribably tired. But most of all, she just felt _angry_.

The sheer horror of what she saw behind that door, the absolute inhumanity of it, had her shaking in both disgust, terror, but most of all, _rage_. For the first time in her hero career...she'd understood some villains in a way she never had before. If her heroism was protecting that? Ruby's face twisted slightly as the images flitted through her mind...the diagrams...the pulsing lights...the twisted mass of muscle and flesh floating serenely in the tube…

' _NO!_ ' she snarled internally, slamming her fist down onto the table, rattling the bowl and spoon around. She licked her lips, eyes opening wide in shock as she tasted blood. Lifting a hand up to her mouth, her fingertips came away covered in droplets of red, as she realized she'd bitten her lip so deeply she'd drawn blood from it. She stared blankly at it for a moment, mind not quite catching onto it at first. With a shake of her head to clear it, she stood up from the table. Gently tossing the bowl into the sink, she strode off towards the shower.

Minutes later, the steam filled the bathroom as she stood beneath the water, leaning forward, hands against the wall. Water dripped from her form, the spray hitting her muscled back with as strong a force as she could set the showerhead to. She breathed deeply, ignoring the discomfort from inhaling the heated, humid air, seeking to relax her heart rate.

The water was as hot as she could take it, her skin already turning red underneath the sheer heat pouring over her. She hated hot showers, but she _needed_ to feel clean. She wasn't sure she ever could feel clean again, after what she saw. The entire room was full of steam so thick she could barely see the shower curtain next to her, and there, hidden in the fog, hidden from the world, Ruby wasn't Red Rose. Ruby was just...Ruby. And the water on her face, slowly dripping down into the drain...wasn't all from the shower.

* * *

Blake sat upright in her bed, shoulders slumped, desperately trying to figure out her next move. She'd lost the USB to Red Rose, and her secret was now known to Yang. She trusted Yang, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized Yang had a point. Red Rose was doing the right thing, or at least, the right thing as far as she thought it was. Honestly, Blake admired Red Rose most of the time...she seemed a little more cocky than Blake liked, but she got the job done. She protected the people, regardless of where they came from, of who they were. She didn't do it for money, or fame. She was the type of hero Blake always loved to read about. It also didn't hurt she was _incredibly hot_ (that much she absolutely agreed with Weiss on).

Blake was just a little frustrated that Red Rose had stopped her from exposing a _real_ crime taking place. She had never managed to fully infiltrate the building, but Blake just knew Jacques was up to something. She had the proof! She had it...until Red Rose took it. If only she could just _talk_ to Red Rose, maybe she could convince her to let her have it, or at least tell her what to investigate! Blake shook her head at that thought. She couldn't just abandon the cause to Red Rose. Whether she trusted her or not didn't change this was Blake's mission. This was something Blake needed to see through to the end. If only she had a way to get ahold of Red Rose…

Blake's eyes snapped wide open as the thought hit her. Flipping off her blankets, she crossed over to her closet. The minor pain in her abdomen had settled to a dull soreness, enough on the mend Blake could ignore as she lifted up the plain wooden chest that sat at the bottom. Not the most secure of places, but no one ever looked in her closet...plus, only she could disable the enchantment on the lock. Concentrating, she lifted one hand to her hair, pulling out a hidden needle buried within her ebony locks. Pricking her index finger, she whispered ' _By mine command...open'_ , dropping the blood onto the golden latch at the center of the lid.

With a small click, it opened, the lid rearing back to reveal a set of clothing so dark that it seemed to darken the room around it, as though it had absorbed the very light itself. As Blake examined it, she considered...her other outfit was basically ruined, considering the knife hole in the center and the damage it had taken from Yang trying to help her remove it. Maybe she could make a few adjustments to this. Adjustments to look less like a ninja, and more like...like a hero. If she was a peer of Red Rose, instead of a foe, she had a chance. Blake grinned to herself as she lifted the outfit out, giving it a critical look. It was time for her to step out of the shadows. As she lifted her mask out, already envisioning the changes she'd make, she knew she needed a name.

As she pulled the mask over her head, blinking open her eyes underneath the visor hidden by the dark cloth, she smiled invisibly. She knew her name. She'd had an idea for quite a while, and now it was time to reveal it. The city would soon meet it's newest hero: Black Waltz.


End file.
